JUNE 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 6.5
JUNE 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 6 • The History of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol • Beach Safety Tips • It's Island Time - Where to Stay, Eat & Play on the Island • The Texas School District Police Chiefs Conference • State & National Law Enforcement News • Warstory - What Happened to Susan Miller? • President Biden Receives Light Bulb Award • Open Road - The End of the HEMI? • Fishing with Rusty Barron • Dr. Tina speaks with David Edwards - Humanizing the Badge
JUNE 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 6
• The History of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol
• Beach Safety Tips
• It's Island Time - Where to Stay, Eat & Play on the Island
• The Texas School District Police Chiefs Conference
• State & National Law Enforcement News
• Warstory - What Happened to Susan Miller?
• President Biden Receives Light Bulb Award
• Open Road - The End of the HEMI?
• Fishing with Rusty Barron
• Dr. Tina speaks with David Edwards - Humanizing the Badge
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The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 1
<strong>JUNE</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
FEATURES<br />
46 HISTORY OF THE GALVESTON ISLAND BEACH PATROL<br />
78 BEACH SAFETY TIPS<br />
80 BEACH WARNING FLAG SYSTEM<br />
82 TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICE CHIEF’S CONFERENCE<br />
86 IT’S ISLAND TIME - WHERE TO STAY, EAT & PLAY<br />
OUR TEAM<br />
OUR CONTRIBUTORS<br />
On the Cover<br />
For over 146 years, Galveston<br />
Island has some type of lifesaving<br />
service for the island’s<br />
beaches. Since 1983, The Galveston<br />
Island Beach Patrol has<br />
assumed those duties and under<br />
the direction of Chief Peter<br />
Davis, is now one of the finest<br />
Beach Patrols in the US.<br />
40<br />
44<br />
DEPARTMENTS<br />
4 Publisher’s Thoughts<br />
6 Editor’s Thoughts<br />
8 Guest Editorial - Letter to the President<br />
10 Guest Editorial - Last Shift as a Cop<br />
11 Your Thoughts<br />
14 News Around the State<br />
32 News Around the Country<br />
96 Light Bulb Award<br />
98 Blue Mental Health with Dr. Tina Jaeckle<br />
100 HPOU - A Message from Douglas Griffith<br />
102 Running 4 Heroes<br />
104 Remembering My Hero - Officer John Salvaggio<br />
108 Honoring our Fallen Heroes<br />
116 Outdoors with Rusty Barron<br />
118 Marketplace - Discounts for LEOs<br />
124 Parting Shots<br />
126 <strong>No</strong>w Hiring - L.E.O. Positions Open in Texas<br />
94<br />
98<br />
MICHAEL BARRON<br />
founder & publisher<br />
MICHAEL BARRON<br />
editor-n-chief<br />
REX EVANS<br />
contributing editor<br />
DIANE TRYKOWSKI<br />
creative editor<br />
RUSTY BARRON<br />
outdoor editor<br />
TINA JAECKLE<br />
contributing editor<br />
DARYL LOTT<br />
contributing editor<br />
SAM HORWITZ & JOHN SALERNO<br />
contributing editors<br />
DOUGLAS GRIFFITH<br />
HPOU contributing editor<br />
JANICE VANZURA<br />
sales mgr / austin<br />
CHRISTINA FRASER<br />
sales mgr / national<br />
T. EDISON<br />
light bulb award<br />
SHERIFF ED GONZALEZ<br />
HCSO newsletter<br />
OFFICER BARRETT<br />
warstories/aftermath editor<br />
JOE FRIDAY / BILL GANNON<br />
contributing editor<br />
KELSEY BRADSHAW<br />
contributing editor<br />
HERBERT G. MCCANN<br />
contributing editor<br />
JACOB SCHOLL<br />
contributing editor<br />
MARYBESS SALVAGGIO<br />
contributing editor / COPS<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
VICKY PINK<br />
cover<br />
90<br />
DARYL’S DELIBERATIONS<br />
by DARYL LOTT<br />
BLUE MENTAL HEALTH by TINA JAECKLE<br />
The BLUES Police Magazine is published monthly by Kress-Barr, LLC, P.O. Box 2733, League City Texas 77574. The opinions<br />
expressed in articles, op-eds and editorials are those of each individual author and do not reflect the opinion of<br />
The BLUES or its parent company. Rebuttals or submission of news articles and editorials may be submitted to:<br />
The BLUES Police Magazine - bluespdmag@gmail.com. The entire contents of The BLUES is copyrighted© and may not be<br />
reproduced or reprinted without the express permission of the publisher. The BLUES logo is a Trademark of Kress-Barr, LLC.<br />
2 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 3
A Trip Back in Time<br />
Two things happened in 1983 that<br />
continue to be significant in Texas<br />
law enforcement today. One, it<br />
was the year that planning began<br />
to create what would later become<br />
The BLUES, a newsletter of sorts<br />
for the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.<br />
And two, some forty-five<br />
miles south on Galveston Island,<br />
the Galveston Island Beach Patrol<br />
began a new journey of its own<br />
under the leadership of man named<br />
Vic Maceo.<br />
The Beach Patrol actually began<br />
in 1875 when a lifesaving station<br />
was established at San Luis Pass.<br />
Over the years, the beach patrol<br />
bounced back and forth between<br />
municipal departments with no<br />
real commitment for funding or<br />
ownership. Finally, in 1983 Vic Maceo<br />
was appointed as the Director<br />
of the Galveston Island Beach<br />
Patrol under the direction of Sheriff<br />
Joe Max Taylor and the Galveston<br />
County Sheriff’s Department.<br />
Over the course of the next 38<br />
years since, only two people really<br />
have guided the Beach Patrol ship<br />
—Maceo and Peter Davis. Vic was<br />
the Captain (he was a Major at<br />
Galveston County, but this is a ships<br />
story and there are only Captains…<br />
lol) of the ship from 1983 to 2007<br />
and Peter Davis was his first mate<br />
and second in command. In 2007,<br />
Maceo retired, and Davis took the<br />
helm and has been there ever since.<br />
In the years they were together,<br />
the two of them ran a tight<br />
ship and guided it through some<br />
turbulent waters – both literally<br />
and figuratively. There were hurricanes,<br />
floods, beach erosions,<br />
budget increases, budget cuts,<br />
good years, bad years, and the<br />
never-ending change of lifeguards.<br />
Every year new recruits would be<br />
chosen and trained to be the best<br />
of the best. Some remained from<br />
previous years and some moved<br />
on. It was an ever-changing cast<br />
of characters. What remained the<br />
same was those two guys at the<br />
helm. Together they created one of<br />
the finest Beach Patrol units in the<br />
United States.<br />
I visited Peter a couple weeks<br />
ago and it was truly a trip back<br />
in time. It’s been 14 years since<br />
I walked those stairs to the Patrol<br />
Office on the top floor of the<br />
Stewart Beach Pavilion. Other than<br />
the fact the office is now located<br />
in what used to be the Beach Club,<br />
everything looks pretty much the<br />
same. The walls still have pictures<br />
of lifeguards from years gone by<br />
including Leroy Colombo, the greatest<br />
lifeguard of all time.<br />
In a way you can say nothing<br />
has changed and everything has<br />
changed. The people are all new,<br />
MICHAEL BARRON<br />
the offices are in a new place, the<br />
uniforms and the trucks are all<br />
painted a new color and for the<br />
first time, the Beach Patrol is its<br />
own police department. What<br />
hasn’t changed is the number one<br />
goal of everyone that works there<br />
– get through an entire season and<br />
not have to recover a single body.<br />
Everyone that’s ever worked there<br />
knows that rarely happens and<br />
someone always drowns during<br />
the year. But that doesn’t stop all<br />
100+ members of the department<br />
from working night and day to save<br />
each and every person that gets in<br />
trouble on Galveston’s 32 miles of<br />
beaches. It’s an exhausting job, but<br />
men and women of the Galveston<br />
Beach Patrol wouldn’t have it any<br />
other way.<br />
For me personally, I’m extremely<br />
proud of the time I spent with<br />
Galveston County and the Galveston<br />
County Beach Patrol and it was<br />
honor and a privilege to serve under<br />
Vic Maceo and Peter Davis. These<br />
guys are truly the best of the best.<br />
But now the question remains, who<br />
is going to step up and take the<br />
helm when Peter Davis retires?<br />
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4 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 5<br />
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I’ve been in Law Enforcement and As for Samuel, I can only sincerely<br />
$150,000 Fire/Rescue for a long time ..what now. I pray it won’t he did not suffer, get and he you. never<br />
have unfortunately seen my fair share<br />
of child death cases. Whether by accident<br />
or intentional, such cases stay<br />
with you forever. They just do.<br />
That being said, so do some of the<br />
most gruesome and selfish kinds of<br />
crimes, you know the ones. Where<br />
the husband figures, “If I can’t haver<br />
her, no one can!” Then, he takes her<br />
life and his, leaving the kids to face<br />
this world the rest of their lives alone.<br />
Some would say, “It’s only getting<br />
worse.” But I don’t know about that. I<br />
have been responding to these kind of<br />
crimes my whole career. Kids paying<br />
the price for the adult’s stupidity, selfishness,<br />
and extreme violence.<br />
In my career, I have held dying men,<br />
women, and children. I was the last<br />
face they saw. The last words they<br />
heard were from me. The kids, they’re<br />
the hardest to try and push past. I<br />
have tried, and I have failed. There’s<br />
not a day or night that goes by where<br />
I do not remember them..…one and<br />
all.<br />
As Houston Police, Jasper Police,<br />
The Texas Rangers and others work<br />
through the series of events, statements<br />
and actions in regard to the<br />
Samuel Olson case (the missing, now<br />
found deceased 6 year old child)<br />
I cannot help but to feel extreme<br />
sorrow for them all. For the sight of<br />
a deceased child is completely and<br />
utterly unnatural. It defies all human<br />
logic and emotion. It’ll leave a huge<br />
hole in the place where your heart<br />
once beat.<br />
I’ll tell you, the hardest one for me<br />
was a small little blonde hair girl<br />
who quietly looked up at me as I<br />
gently moved her hair from in front of<br />
her eyes and she said, “I’m scared.” I’ll<br />
never forget her, and I’ll never forget<br />
that terrible, tragic scene. I suppose<br />
it’s fair to say, some cases are just<br />
harder on your heart and your mind<br />
than others.<br />
saw the face of anyone who once<br />
told him “I love you” as that same<br />
person that took his very life. I cannot<br />
imagine a worse scenario for that<br />
precious, innocent little boy. <strong>No</strong> one,<br />
I mean no one, should ever beat, torture,<br />
abuse or certainly take the life<br />
of a child.<br />
I’ve no doubt the Texas Rangers and<br />
the Officers from various agencies<br />
will do their absolute best to ensure<br />
some justice is afforded to little<br />
Samuel. That in some way, some<br />
semblance of peace can be afforded<br />
in the fact that whomever is responsible<br />
for Samuel’s death, pays for that<br />
senseless and terrible loss.<br />
From the first Houston Police Officer<br />
who responded to the original call, to<br />
the Jasper Officers and Rangers, the<br />
Crime Scene Technicians and all the<br />
others who have and are continuing<br />
to take part in piecing together this<br />
difficult series of events, you have my<br />
unwavering support and most sincere<br />
admiration. For I completely understand<br />
what you’re enduring and what<br />
you’re going to endure in the days,<br />
months and years to come.<br />
I can clearly see in the eyes of<br />
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner and<br />
Asst. Chief Heather Miller, the sincerity<br />
in their sorrow for Samuel, the<br />
innocent family members and everyone<br />
affected by this…. this act of<br />
what can only be described as “Evil.”<br />
I am certain these two and others in<br />
the Houston Police Department shall<br />
work tirelessly and steadfastly with<br />
the other law enforcement agencies<br />
involved to reconstruct the events<br />
which led us to where we are today.<br />
With regards to family violence<br />
overall, I’ll never fathom why some<br />
people feel it is somehow better to<br />
kill their spouse or significant other<br />
and then themselves, all so that their<br />
child(ren) are forced to watch, see,<br />
suffer and forevermore endure what<br />
REX EVANS<br />
they’ve done. What kind of “person”<br />
does that? What kind of “person”<br />
decides the lives of their child(ren)<br />
aren’t more valuable that their own?<br />
Thus, in a moment of rage and absolute<br />
stupidity, they take the lives of<br />
the other parent and themselves.<br />
I’ll wrap it up with this, no cop will<br />
ever forget those cases where a child<br />
dies. You just don’t. I can attest the<br />
same goes for all firefighters and EMS<br />
personnel. Right along with our communications<br />
personnel. For collectively,<br />
we hear, see, smell and endure<br />
everything everyone else in the world<br />
absolutely fears the most. A deceased<br />
son or daughter….a young, innocent<br />
child. Through no fault of their own,<br />
their lives are ripped apart and taken.<br />
I cannot really image a worse kind of<br />
case or moment in one’s career.<br />
For me, such cases even riveled<br />
the loss of partners and law enforcement<br />
officers. Even those I have<br />
known and worked with who died in<br />
the line of duty. I have no doubt the<br />
same applies to officers everywhere.<br />
I sincerely pray for all involved in<br />
such cases. I sincerely pray for all of<br />
us actually. For Samuel was not the<br />
first child killed and he will not be the<br />
last. Especially with our current “Judicial<br />
Bond Reform System” in place.<br />
It isn’t just failing us, our families, our<br />
communities. It’s costing and killing<br />
the very best and the most innocent<br />
of us all….our children.<br />
full page ad<br />
6 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 7
joe friday<br />
GUEST EDITORIAL<br />
Open Letter to the President<br />
I’m sending this editorial out to<br />
every media outlet in the US with<br />
the hopes that someone will<br />
print it. Unfortunately, I’m withholding<br />
my true identity as I’m<br />
quite sure my employer would<br />
terminate my employment immediately<br />
as we are forbidden<br />
from making any statements to<br />
the media.<br />
I have been a police officer<br />
for over 20 years. In my career,<br />
I’ve been shot, run over by a<br />
suspect’s vehicle, assaulted by<br />
suspects and suspects family<br />
members, spit at, bitten, nearly<br />
stabbed twice, and hospitalized<br />
three times. According to doctors,<br />
I died on the table three<br />
times but by the grace of God I’m<br />
still here.<br />
I watched people die, some in<br />
my arms. I’ve pulled dead babies<br />
from cars. I’ve jumped in lakes<br />
and swimming pools and pulled<br />
infants out who had drowned,<br />
but again by the grace of God I<br />
was able to bring them back to<br />
life. I tried to save a family of<br />
four, a mom and three babies<br />
that drove off a street into a lake<br />
and their car sank. I couldn’t get<br />
to them and they all died. I sat<br />
and watched as their car was<br />
pulled from the lake and saw the<br />
body of the mom holding her<br />
children in her arms, knowing<br />
full well they were about to die.<br />
I’ve held a mother in my arms<br />
as paramedics worked on her<br />
2-year-old baby girl that had<br />
been struck in the head by a<br />
stray bullet as she laid in her<br />
new “big girl” bed. She didn’t do<br />
anything to anybody, she was<br />
just a baby. The thugs who shot<br />
her mistook her house for the<br />
drug dealer’s house that had<br />
ripped them off. They were a<br />
block off. They got it right the<br />
next night and killed 4 people<br />
in the drug dealer’s house. The<br />
dealer, his mom, father, and<br />
grandfather. All dead. The baby<br />
girl died on the way to the hospital.<br />
I’ve had two partners get shot<br />
in front of me. I held one in my<br />
arms while he bled out. The<br />
other survived but spends his<br />
days in a wheelchair now instead<br />
of a patrol car. Hundreds of my<br />
brothers and sisters in Blue have<br />
died at the hands of thugs you<br />
say are mistreated by the police.<br />
Yes, they are bad cops that<br />
do bad things to people. They<br />
shouldn’t be cops. But there are<br />
bad doctors that make mistakes<br />
and kill people. Maybe it’s an<br />
accident, maybe they were careless.<br />
In every profession there<br />
are bad people. There are horrible<br />
politicians that shouldn’t be<br />
allowed to make laws that hurt<br />
people. People’s lives are destroyed<br />
every day by laws created<br />
in Washington and signed by<br />
you, Mr. President.<br />
You seem to hate and despise<br />
the uniform I wear. The uniform<br />
my brothers and sisters<br />
wear. You hate what I stand for<br />
and what they stand for. But yet<br />
every time you go somewhere,<br />
hundreds of my brothers and sisters<br />
in Blue are there to protect<br />
YOU. They risk their lives to make<br />
sure nothing happens to YOU. But<br />
yet you don’t respect them. Why?<br />
When a “person of color” as<br />
you call them is killed by the police,<br />
you are saddened, shocked<br />
by the death of an “innocent”<br />
man or woman. Did it ever<br />
occur to you that they weren’t<br />
innocent. They had to be doing<br />
something wrong. Cops just<br />
don’t drive around killing people<br />
for no reason. Yes, I agree that<br />
some cops have used excessive<br />
force that resulted in someone’s<br />
death and yes, they should be<br />
punished. They have shot people<br />
they thought were armed and<br />
weren’t and they have to answer<br />
for that. But those “bad cops” as<br />
you refer to them, are less than<br />
.003% of all the cops in the US.<br />
Don’t punish me for a few dozen<br />
“bad cops.”<br />
And please explain to me why<br />
you would invite the family of<br />
a convicted felon, George Floyd<br />
to the White House and honor<br />
them? Yes, their son died while<br />
in police custody. The police<br />
officer involved was tried and<br />
found guilty. They got a huge<br />
sum of money for his death. But<br />
did you ever ask how they treated<br />
their son BEFORE he was<br />
killed resisting arrest? I doubt it.<br />
They disowned him. Told him to<br />
stay away from his family. They<br />
caused him to move away from<br />
Houston and move to Minnesota.<br />
They only cared about him after<br />
he was killed, and they saw a<br />
huge payday. And YOU Mr. President,<br />
invited these greedy people<br />
to the White House?<br />
What about all the police officers<br />
that didn’t mistreat anyone<br />
and yet were killed in the line of<br />
duty? You dishonored them by<br />
not even lowering the flag during<br />
a week set aside to honor them<br />
for paying the ultimate sacrifice.<br />
They gave up their life for just<br />
doing their jobs. They didn’t hurt<br />
anyone. They didn’t kill anyone<br />
because of the color of their<br />
skin. They were heroes and you<br />
disrespected them, and you disrespected<br />
their families. Mothers,<br />
fathers, sons, daughters, brothers,<br />
sisters, aunts and uncles.<br />
You disrespected ALL OF THEM.<br />
While you pay tribute to a thug’s<br />
family for the death of a convicted<br />
felon. You make me sick.<br />
I have always, always respected<br />
the President and what he<br />
stands for. I didn’t like President<br />
Obama or his policies, but I never<br />
said, “He isn’t MY President.”<br />
It’s the office I respect not the<br />
person in it. But you sir, I have<br />
zero respect for. In my opinion<br />
you are a disgrace to the office<br />
and what it stands for. In fact,<br />
nearly everyone in your party,<br />
believes that police departments<br />
should be defunded, and police<br />
officers replaced by social workers,<br />
specifically working without<br />
guns. They believe, you believe<br />
that no one should ever be killed<br />
again no matter what they do.<br />
That not a single “person of color”<br />
should ever be killed at the<br />
hands of police ever again.<br />
But what you and your cohorts<br />
don’t understand, is that cops<br />
didn’t shoot and kill a “person<br />
or color” or anyone else for that<br />
matter because of the color of<br />
their skin, they were shot because<br />
they were breaking the<br />
law. They refused to lay down<br />
their guns when told to do so.<br />
They were threatening to do<br />
RED MARK USA<br />
Rescuing the Innocent<br />
harm to another human being.<br />
They got shot because they are<br />
BAD PEOPLE! Plain and simple. But<br />
that doesn’t serve your narrative.<br />
You want ALL guns removed from<br />
everyone. And as long as someone<br />
is getting shot, that just furthers<br />
your agenda.<br />
Let’s say for a moment, that every<br />
gun in the US was taken and destroyed.<br />
<strong>No</strong> one would have guns.<br />
<strong>No</strong>t the bad guys or the good guys.<br />
Do you think that people would<br />
stop killing one another? <strong>No</strong>!! They<br />
would use knives, swords, rocks,<br />
bottles, and whatever they could<br />
find to do harm against another<br />
person. People were killed long<br />
before there were guns. Since the<br />
dawn of time, people have killed<br />
each other. Your agenda is baseless,<br />
and you know it.<br />
I’ll close with this. You don’t<br />
deserve to be President and I will<br />
do everything in my power to get<br />
someone with respect and dignity<br />
elected to replace you.<br />
Houston Police officers, Harris County Sheriff’s deputies and deputy constables<br />
are imprisoned by a corrupt district attorney on trumped up charges. A<br />
progressive police chief investigates and fires officers by the dozens on spurious<br />
complaints.<br />
The USA is under the control of a leftist government. Anyone found in contempt<br />
of the new ideology has their bank accounts closed and locked. That’s<br />
the Red Mark.<br />
Left wing rioters burn and destroy churches, synagogues, mosques and temples.<br />
The First and Second amendments to the Constitution are declared null<br />
and void. Right wing insurrectionists plot to kidnap the mayor and city council.<br />
Corrupt and inept Department of Human Relations police abuse citizens and<br />
act like a new Gestapo.<br />
Dozens of police officers, sheriff’s deputies and constables are scheduled<br />
for execution by public hanging in front of an angry mob. It’s up to a group of<br />
officers and deputies to rescue them before they’re killed. Working in strictest<br />
secrecy, knowing that the discovery of their plot will mean prison and death,<br />
they work against time to rescue the innocent.<br />
Deacon Blue is a retired Houston Police Officer.<br />
Available on Amazon Kindle or paperback. $9.95<br />
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE<br />
8 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 9
ill gannon<br />
GUEST EDITORIAL<br />
Last Shift as a Cop<br />
Tonight, 5/10/<strong>2021</strong>, is Dustin’s<br />
last shift as a law enforcement<br />
officer. I can’t even believe I’m<br />
writing this.<br />
I know many of you who read<br />
this will be as shocked as I still<br />
am. Ever since we met 12 years<br />
ago, it was all he talked about.<br />
He was getting ready to enter<br />
the police academy in Michigan.<br />
It was his dream, the only thing<br />
he ever saw himself doing, the<br />
only thing he ever wanted to<br />
do. I had never seen a person<br />
so passionate about serving. He<br />
dreamed of climbing the ranks,<br />
an illustrious 30-year career.<br />
What happened???<br />
Nine years of working weekends,<br />
nights, holidays, and everything<br />
in between. Sometimes<br />
serving a 12, 13, 14 or more-hour<br />
shift without a drink of water, a<br />
meal, or even a bathroom break.<br />
Missing dinners, birthdays,<br />
anniversaries, Christmas, school<br />
events, funerals, even his own<br />
brother’s wedding. Every shift<br />
we, his family, hugged and<br />
kissed him goodbye, praying for<br />
his safe return. Sending him out<br />
into unknown danger to protect<br />
you and your family.<br />
My officer, and all those who<br />
serve, would lay down their life<br />
for yours in a heartbeat. For you,<br />
a complete stranger. Whether<br />
you hate them or not. Without<br />
even taking notice of your race,<br />
gender, age, or any way you<br />
identify. Unless you have served,<br />
you cannot possibly understand<br />
the sacrifice.<br />
The physical and emotional<br />
trauma. Bearing witness to the<br />
darkest side of humanity. Seeing<br />
things you couldn’t even imagine<br />
in your worst nightmares. All<br />
while being hated, cursed, spat<br />
on, punched, assaulted, and have<br />
others try to end your life simply<br />
because you wear the badge.<br />
Seeing your brothers and sisters<br />
make the ultimate sacrifice.<br />
As law enforcement families,<br />
these are the realities we live<br />
every single day. I just thought<br />
life would always be like this. But<br />
when you see your officer’s passion,<br />
and the good work cops do,<br />
most of which goes unnoticed,<br />
you understand the sacrifice. You,<br />
yourself, become a part of the<br />
sacrifice.<br />
To be a police officer is to be<br />
under appreciated and misunderstood.<br />
To be criticized by the<br />
media and the public, your every<br />
move under surveillance. To be<br />
vilified for doing what is right<br />
and just. To be expected to be<br />
robotic, emotionless, and without<br />
error.<br />
Hold our public servants to<br />
the highest standard of conduct,<br />
yes. But don’t demonize an entire<br />
profession because of the abhorrent<br />
acts of a despicable few.<br />
Police officers are human, yes,<br />
just like you. And they are not<br />
immune to error.<br />
Those who willfully do harm<br />
are a disgrace to law enforcement<br />
and should never have had<br />
the honor and privilege of wearing<br />
the badge.<br />
Ask any officer and they will<br />
agree vehemently. To the coward<br />
hiding behind your keyboard -<br />
you swallow all of the divisive<br />
garbage the media feeds you<br />
without a second thought. You<br />
aren’t qualified to tell law enforcement<br />
that they are undertrained<br />
and overfunded.<br />
You have no idea how many<br />
hours upon hours of training are<br />
required to do the job. You’re not<br />
an expert on criminal justice or<br />
the law. You’re doing more harm<br />
than good. You robbed my officer<br />
of his passion. The fire in him<br />
died.<br />
He was an exemplary officer,<br />
the kind every department<br />
needs, and everyone wants on<br />
their team. The one every person<br />
in need prays will answer their<br />
call. But the hatred, the fear, and<br />
the sacrifice… it just isn’t worth<br />
it anymore. Stop casting police<br />
officers as the scapegoat for<br />
societal problems.<br />
You can be black, white,<br />
brown, yellow, purple or green<br />
and support law enforcement.<br />
You can be liberal, conservative,<br />
or apolitical and support<br />
law enforcement. You can be<br />
religious, atheist, or anything in<br />
between and support law enforcement.<br />
You can be antiracist and<br />
support law enforcement. You<br />
can support law enforcement<br />
and stand for what is right and<br />
just and good. You can do all of<br />
these things. Stop making it “us”<br />
versus “them.”<br />
Stop making us choose sides.<br />
Stop polarizing everything. By<br />
painting all officers with the<br />
same brush, you are perpetrating<br />
the very prejudice that you claim<br />
to be against.<br />
And you are fostering a dangerous<br />
society plagued by fear<br />
and distrust. If you think law enforcement<br />
needs a change, why<br />
don’t you submit an application<br />
and actually be the change?<br />
Any coward can sit behind his<br />
keyboard and criticize. Talk is<br />
cheap. Is it because you know<br />
you can’t hold a candle to the<br />
men and women of law enforcement?<br />
Is it because you know<br />
you don’t have what it takes? It<br />
takes a special person to make<br />
the sacrifice that officers make<br />
every single day.<br />
Departments everywhere are<br />
DEAR POLICE1 MEMBER<br />
Over the past year, officers and<br />
their families have faced some of<br />
the biggest challenges that have<br />
ever confronted law enforcement.<br />
Following the terrible and tragic<br />
death of George Floyd, LEOs<br />
experienced a backlash of anger,<br />
protests, political opposition and<br />
defunding that rocked policing<br />
to its core. All of this came amid<br />
the worst global pandemic in a<br />
century, a direct and dire threat<br />
to those serving on the front lines,<br />
and we still do not know how<br />
many of our officers and their<br />
family members have been killed<br />
by COVID-19.<br />
Being an officer has never been<br />
more difficult or demanding and<br />
for many who serve, this has<br />
hiring. Officers are walking away<br />
in record numbers. But this is<br />
what you wanted, isn’t it?<br />
Instead of departments raising<br />
their standards, they’re now<br />
having to lower them because<br />
they are overworked and understaffed.<br />
Does that make you feel<br />
safer? Isn’t that what you wanted?<br />
Abolish the police?<br />
I hope you’re happy. I hope<br />
you feel safe. If you support our<br />
faithful law enforcement officers<br />
everywhere, now is the time to<br />
speak up.<br />
The profession is in trouble,<br />
and your support is needed now<br />
more than ever. Thank you to<br />
everyone who has supported our<br />
officer over the years.<br />
Your support means more than<br />
you will ever know. To those<br />
who continue to serve every day<br />
resulted in a deprioritizing of<br />
personal wellness. However, it<br />
has never been more important to<br />
keep your heart, mind and body fit.<br />
Officer wellness is key to doing all<br />
we can to help improve community<br />
relations and officer retention<br />
and recruitment as we look<br />
toward the future.<br />
Society outsources the most difficult<br />
challenges to law enforcement,<br />
and it’s only fair that officers<br />
have high-quality support when<br />
facing their own challenges. Take<br />
good care of yourself and your<br />
fellow officers. Surround yourself<br />
with good people who support<br />
you. Talk with peer support. Connect<br />
with a high-quality, culturally<br />
competent therapist. Do your part<br />
to help smash the stigma that<br />
despite the adversity the profession<br />
faces, we see you.<br />
And we will continue to support<br />
you. We see your sacrifice,<br />
your courage, your selflessness,<br />
and strength. Hold the line. Honey,<br />
we are proud of you beyond<br />
words.<br />
The time you served and the<br />
countless sacrifices you made<br />
will never be in vain. You made<br />
our corner of the world a better<br />
place for the people you helped<br />
and the lives you touched. We’ll<br />
support you every step of the<br />
way you as you transition to the<br />
next chapter and crush your new<br />
goals.<br />
To honor your career, I’m sharing<br />
some photos from your years<br />
of service. We love you so much,<br />
Officer D. C. Harris.<br />
Thank you for being ours.<br />
makes it so difficult for so many in<br />
the profession to seek help.<br />
We thank you for your service,<br />
your sacrifices and all you have<br />
done to keep our communities<br />
safe during the past year.<br />
Stay safe,<br />
DR. DAVID BLACK, FOUNDER<br />
AND CEO OF CORDICO<br />
WHAT’S UP WITH ROSEN?<br />
With regards to the series of<br />
troubling events at the Harris<br />
County Pct. 1 Constable’s Office, I<br />
got to tell you, I wonder what in<br />
the world is going on over there.<br />
What was/is he (Constable Rosen)<br />
thinking? Especially now that he<br />
has had such a steak of bad employees<br />
doing bad things.<br />
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*CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE<br />
Why did he fire the deputies so<br />
fast and yet when his supervisors<br />
(a Chief and a Lieutenant) make<br />
not only National News but Worldwide<br />
news…he lets them continue<br />
to serve in those critical roles?<br />
How in the world do promotions in<br />
that department even work? Are<br />
there promotional exams? Interviews?<br />
Review board? Anything?<br />
<strong>No</strong>thing? How in the world do<br />
supervisors become supervisors in<br />
that department?<br />
One cannot discount the good in<br />
the community Constable Rosen<br />
has done. He has been an innovative<br />
leader in the law enforcement<br />
community with regards to helping<br />
those who reside in precinct<br />
one. He has helped many people<br />
who otherwise have been completely<br />
forgotten by society and<br />
other political leaders in Harris<br />
County, Texas.<br />
Yet all the hard work and long<br />
hours of work done in the service<br />
of others has been completely<br />
dismantled in the matter of one<br />
months’ time and has called into<br />
question the very existence of his<br />
Office. If supervisors at Pct. 1 have<br />
not been vetted in some fashion<br />
(like I mentioned above) why in<br />
God’s name are they supervisors?!?!?!<br />
They absolutely should<br />
NOT be in those roles, unless they<br />
have at the bare minimum been<br />
through some kind of Promotional<br />
Assessment Process. We all<br />
know being a good cop doesn’t<br />
make you a good supervisor. Case<br />
and point, the latest tragic incident<br />
whereby an Asst. Chief and<br />
a Lieutenant are both accused of<br />
some poor decision making and<br />
wrongdoing.<br />
Again, to be totally fair, you cannot<br />
help but allow for all the good<br />
Rosen has done. He certainly has<br />
helped a LOT of people. But somewhere<br />
along the line, something<br />
has gone terribly wrong. And now<br />
a lot of people are paying a steep<br />
price for it.<br />
I don’t work at Pct. 1, but I certainly<br />
know a lot of people who<br />
do. I can tell you from the outside<br />
looking in, a lot of folks over there<br />
are sad, frustrated and upset. Morale<br />
has plummeted sharply which<br />
is not good for any organization.<br />
I don’t have a dog in the hunt as<br />
the old saying goes. But what has<br />
happened at Pct. 1 affects all the<br />
personnel there and of course<br />
vicariously, cops all across Harris<br />
County. This series of arrests,<br />
terminations, a suicide during<br />
a SWAT standoff by a Sergeant<br />
and now a huge lawsuit by three<br />
former employees, would make<br />
anyone ask …”What in the hell is<br />
going on over there and what is<br />
Rosen doing about it?”<br />
I hate seeing so many people<br />
that work there hurt. I hate what<br />
you’re going through and what<br />
you’re going to go through. It<br />
sucks. Hopefully, Constable Rosen<br />
will demonstrate his ability<br />
to help others can be applied to<br />
his own department and he will<br />
come through for all of you. And<br />
at the same time, come through<br />
for all of us in Harris County Law<br />
Enforcement.<br />
NOT SIGNED<br />
WHITE HOUSE SH*T SHOW<br />
What in the hell is going on<br />
in Washington, specifically the<br />
White House? Our last President<br />
hosted real heroes like wounded<br />
soldiers and wounded police<br />
officers. He invited the widows of<br />
fallen officers and grieved with<br />
him. Hugged them and told them<br />
how proud they should be of their<br />
wife, husband, son or daughter.<br />
How proud HE was of them.<br />
Yes, The President of the United<br />
States was proud of them for their<br />
service to their country and the<br />
citizens they swore to protect.<br />
And every single time a man<br />
or woman was killed in the line<br />
of duty, President Trump called<br />
the family to express his deepest<br />
condolences. Trump cared about<br />
each and every person who wore<br />
a uniform. Before and after every<br />
flight in Air Force One, he shook<br />
the hand of every first responder<br />
that was there to protect him.<br />
<strong>No</strong> matter how much of a hurry<br />
everyone else was in, this was his<br />
number one priority.<br />
The Vice President once stopped<br />
his motorcade when a motor officer<br />
went down, and Vice President<br />
Pence got out and rendered aide<br />
to the injured officer. He called<br />
him the following day to make<br />
sure he was OK. These are men<br />
you can be proud of.<br />
These asshats in the Oval Office<br />
now are an embarrassment to<br />
themselves and the country. They<br />
could care less about anyone in<br />
uniform. Much like the Obama’s,<br />
they are care more about the<br />
crooks then the men and women<br />
in Blue. Trump lighted the Whitehouse<br />
in Blue when an officer was<br />
killed. Biden refused to even lower<br />
the flags during Police Week.<br />
Obama painted the Whitehouse in<br />
Rainbow colors for LBGTQ folks,<br />
but never once honored cops or<br />
servicemen.<br />
I can’t for the life of me understand<br />
why the hate law enforcement.<br />
After all they are surrounded<br />
by dozens of them every day<br />
protecting their worthless asses.<br />
You’d think they’d have some kind<br />
of bond with them. NOPE! Maybe<br />
it’s because we carry guns, and<br />
they HATE guns. Whatever the reason,<br />
I’m done with these clowns.<br />
If you care about your country,<br />
I suggest we start campaigning<br />
right now to get these idiots out<br />
of office. If not, you aren’t going to<br />
have much of a country left.<br />
Since January 1, 23 police officers<br />
have been feloniously shot<br />
to death, a 28% increase over the<br />
same period last year. Number of<br />
deceased officers’ families invited<br />
to the White House? Zero. Number<br />
of families of longtime drug users<br />
with heart conditions who died<br />
in police custody invited to the<br />
White House? Well, at least one.<br />
In her daily propaganda briefing<br />
Friday, White House propaganda<br />
minister Jen Psaki refused to offer<br />
any details as to how Biden plans<br />
on commemorating the one-year<br />
anniversary of Floyd’s death on<br />
Tuesday, May 25, the New York<br />
Post reported.<br />
However, on Sunday, CNBC reported<br />
that the family of George<br />
Floyd was going to be hosted at<br />
the White House on Tuesday, the<br />
one-year anniversary of Floyd’s<br />
death while being arrested for a<br />
passing a counterfeit bill in Minneapolis.<br />
“The visit marks the one-year<br />
anniversary of Floyd’s death,<br />
which triggered international<br />
protests against police brutality<br />
and racism in the criminal justice<br />
system,” CNBC reported.<br />
Unless you’ve been living under<br />
a rock, it’s common knowledge<br />
that Floyd was taken into custody,<br />
and as he was having a meltdown<br />
in the back of a Minneapolis<br />
police cruiser, complaining he<br />
couldn’t breathe, he was removed<br />
from the car and placed in a prone<br />
position on the ground.<br />
For around nine minutes, former<br />
Minneapolis police officer Derek<br />
Chauvin kneeled on the area of<br />
Floyd’s neck, although some evidence<br />
presented at Chauvin’s trial<br />
seemed to indicate it was in fact<br />
the area of his shoulders.<br />
Be that as it may, Chauvin was<br />
convicted on all three charges, although<br />
there is plenty of room for<br />
appeal. First of all, the trial judge<br />
refused to move the trial from<br />
Minneapolis to another venue, as<br />
requested by Chauvin’s defense<br />
team. Secondly, the same judge<br />
refused to sequester the jury.<br />
Third, crazy Maxine Waters<br />
(D-CA) threatened more violent<br />
riots if the jury didn’t find Chauvin<br />
guilty.<br />
And finally, one of the jurors lied<br />
during jury selection, claiming<br />
he “didn’t know much” about the<br />
case when in fact he is a Black<br />
Lives Matter activist.<br />
It’s unknown how Biden will<br />
commemorate the one-year anniversary<br />
of Floyd’s death. However,<br />
it’s pretty much a certainty it will<br />
involve a lot of police bashing,<br />
railing about police officers hunting<br />
down black and brown people<br />
for the purposes of killing them,<br />
and talking about how much<br />
America sucks as a “systemically<br />
racist” country. This despite the<br />
fact that people are crossing our<br />
border in the tens of thousands for<br />
the opportunity to come to Amer-<br />
ica and be “oppressed” by the evil<br />
white people.<br />
Floyd’s death of course sparked<br />
months of destructive riots across<br />
the country, nearly all of which<br />
were excused by Democrats<br />
including Biden. It wasn’t until<br />
Biden’s poll numbers started to<br />
fall as weeks turned into months<br />
of violent riots that he made a<br />
tepid condemnation of them.<br />
Democrats seized upon Floyd’s<br />
death to push for sweeping criminal<br />
justice “reforms” including<br />
banning chokeholds, federalizing<br />
training standards, ending qualified<br />
immunity for police officers<br />
and a number of other anti-police<br />
policies.<br />
The proposed bill, the “George<br />
Floyd Justice in Policing Act”<br />
would be the first federal bill<br />
named after a drug addict and<br />
Biden had hoped to get it passed<br />
by the one-year anniversary of<br />
Floyd’s death. That however appears<br />
very unlikely as the legislation<br />
is currently stalled in Congress.<br />
The Daily Wire reported that<br />
Biden has been in touch with<br />
Floyd’s family for a while, having<br />
spoken with them both before and<br />
after the Chauvin verdict came<br />
down.<br />
Biden had pledged last month<br />
during an address to a joint session<br />
of Congress that the Senate<br />
would pass the police reform bill<br />
by May 25, however Congressional<br />
sources told Politico that the<br />
White House no longer believes<br />
that will be possible, as they are<br />
waiting for a compromise bill to<br />
come out of Congress.<br />
We’ll keep waiting to see when<br />
the family of a murdered police<br />
officer is invited to Biden’s White<br />
House. We won’t hold our breath.<br />
ED DANIELS<br />
12 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 13
Former Deputies File Federal Lawsuit<br />
HCCO Asst. Chief Sets Up Massage<br />
Parlor Sting, Gets Deputy Raped<br />
HOUSTON ‐ Harris County Constable<br />
Assistant Chief Chris Gore,<br />
Harris County Constable Alan Rosen,<br />
and Lt. Shane Rigdon are the<br />
target of a Federal lawsuit and are<br />
accused of sexual harassment and<br />
battery, violation of equal protection<br />
and retaliation against former<br />
deputies of the department.<br />
The suit alleges the Chief placed<br />
a female deputy undercover into<br />
massage parlor to be raped by<br />
known sex offender and forced<br />
others to wear provocative clothes<br />
as he lay on top of them fully<br />
aroused in sting operations.<br />
The former deputies, Liz Gomez,<br />
Marissa Sanchez, Felecia McKinney<br />
and Jacqueline Aluotto, an anti sex<br />
trafficking activist, filed the federal<br />
lawsuit together against the three<br />
officers as well as Harris County.<br />
The 40-page lawsuit alleges<br />
Rosen’s office set up undercover<br />
sex trafficking sting operations,<br />
which served as pretext for alcohol-fueled<br />
parties. The female<br />
deputies were allegedly ordered<br />
to dress in skimpy outfits and<br />
were fondled and licked by Gore.<br />
McKinney was allegedly sent to<br />
a massage parlor to be raped by<br />
a known sex offender before she<br />
could signal her colleagues to<br />
arrest him. Gomez and Sanchez<br />
claimed Gore groped them and<br />
laid on top of them while he was<br />
aroused during the stings.<br />
Perhaps some of the most<br />
shocking allegations detailed in<br />
the complaint are related to McKinney,<br />
a young deputy with no undercover<br />
training who is described<br />
in the lawsuit as “the sacrificial<br />
lamb.”<br />
According to the court filing that<br />
was printed in the Houston Chronicle,<br />
in August of 2019, McKinney<br />
was sent during an undercover<br />
vice squad-style operation to a<br />
massage parlor where she was<br />
raped by a known sexual offender,<br />
who had previously sexually<br />
assaulted Constable Rosen’s own<br />
chief of staff, before she could<br />
give a signal to her colleagues to<br />
move in and arrest the suspect.<br />
McKinney was ordered to make<br />
an appointment at the establishment<br />
with the known sexual<br />
offender, the complaint reads. “At<br />
said appointment she was, unsurprisingly,<br />
penetrated in both her<br />
vagina and anus by the same individual<br />
who had only days before<br />
assaulted the chief of staff.<br />
“McKinney was forced to allow<br />
this to happen as she was ordered<br />
to do by her superiors,” the lawsuit<br />
alleges, noting that the constable<br />
offices allowed the deputy<br />
to be led to the alleged rapist<br />
“like a lamb to the slaughter, even<br />
though there was already sufficient<br />
evidence to make an arrest<br />
prior to exposing McKinney to this<br />
trauma.”<br />
After the raid, McKinney was “all<br />
but ignored” by her superiors and<br />
had to drive herself to a sexual<br />
assault exam. The complaint<br />
alleges that Rosen’s office set up<br />
undercover “bachelor party” sting<br />
operations that were designed to<br />
arrest sex trafficking suspects.<br />
But those operations turned<br />
more into parties where officers<br />
drank heavily and the female deputies,<br />
who were given little to no<br />
training in undercover work, were<br />
fondled and kissed by their supervisory<br />
officer, or were told to give<br />
lap dances to other male deputies.<br />
Young female deputies [who]<br />
were handpicked for “undercover<br />
operations” under the guise<br />
of legitimate police work were<br />
molested and traumatized by their<br />
intoxicated male commanding<br />
officers for their own sexual gratification,<br />
the lawsuit alleges. “What<br />
began as an idea for “bachelor<br />
party” prostitution stings soon<br />
grew into a booze-fueled playground<br />
for sexual exploitation in<br />
which young, untrained deputies<br />
were subject to disgusting abuse.”<br />
The lawsuit accuses the defendants<br />
of sexual harassment,<br />
sexual battery, violation of equal<br />
protection and retaliation.<br />
Cord Akers, one of the attorneys<br />
for the women, called the allegations<br />
“Some of the most unspeakable<br />
sexual police misconduct<br />
that any of us have ever seen.”<br />
According to the court documents,<br />
Liz Gomez, the lead plaintiff in the<br />
federal lawsuit, was hand-picked<br />
by Gore for undercover operations,<br />
despite her lack of training. The<br />
deputy claims that she was “Continuously<br />
subjected to sexual harassment,<br />
unwarranted touching,<br />
unwanted kissing, molestation,<br />
and sexual ridicule.”<br />
The complaint alleges that Gore<br />
instructed Gomez to purchase<br />
skimpy outfits to be worn during<br />
the ‘bachelor party’ stings, and<br />
send photos of the clothing to him<br />
while shopping. Gore would relay<br />
the message “That’s not slutty<br />
enough” while Gomez was trying<br />
on the clothing at the store, and<br />
was ordered to purchase something<br />
more provocative, the lawsuit<br />
alleges.<br />
Gore also allegedly took Gomez<br />
to an adult store with him to<br />
purchase sex toys as props with<br />
county funds. ‘After picking up<br />
a product labeled “c*** sleeve,”<br />
Chief Gore commented to the<br />
young female deputy “Oh I bet you<br />
would like this,” the complaint<br />
states. He also instructed Gomez<br />
to purchase dildos and to “pick<br />
out the ones you would personally<br />
prefer.”<br />
After that shopping trip, Gore<br />
allegedly told Gomez that she<br />
was not allowed to work with any<br />
14 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 15<br />
*NEXT PAGE
other male deputy because she<br />
was “his.” The complaint claims<br />
that during the undercover ‘bachelor<br />
party’ stings, female deputies<br />
like Gomez were ordered to allow<br />
Chief Gore to lie on top of them<br />
and fondle their breasts and bodies<br />
to ‘maintain cover.’<br />
They were never warned, however,<br />
that during this conduct<br />
Chief Gore would be wearing<br />
only boxer shorts, fully aroused,<br />
drunk, kissing and licking their<br />
bodies, and giddy after every<br />
sting, according to the lawsuit.<br />
The operations routinely involved<br />
excessive consumption of alcohol,<br />
with male supervisors allegedly<br />
pressuring female deputies to take<br />
shots.<br />
Gore would tell the female<br />
deputies to “drink up,” “get loose,”<br />
and that it was time to “start the<br />
party,” according to the lawsuit.<br />
After her first two undercover<br />
operations, Gomez asked to be<br />
removed from the team. After ridicule<br />
and denigration, her request<br />
was reluctantly granted, and<br />
she was subjected to continuous<br />
harassment from her superiors<br />
for “not having what it takes,” the<br />
lawsuit states.<br />
Gomez’s replacement on the<br />
team, Sanchez, was also handpicked<br />
by Gore to be ‘his girl,’<br />
despite being a rookie with no<br />
training in undercover work, the<br />
lawsuit alleges. Like her predecessor,<br />
Sanchez was also instructed<br />
to dress in revealing clothing, and<br />
she was told that she may need to<br />
get naked and give her male colleagues<br />
a lap dance during a sting<br />
operation.<br />
As the first suspects arrived and<br />
the sting began, Chief Gore immediately<br />
took off Sanchez’s bra<br />
without warning and for no real<br />
reason. He then threw her bra<br />
across the room, the complaint<br />
states. ...While her breasts and<br />
naked body were exposed due<br />
to Chief Gore’s actions, he would<br />
continuously laugh, even after the<br />
undercover operation ended.<br />
Similarly to Gomez, Sanchez<br />
claimed that her drunken boss<br />
would lie on top or under her,<br />
“where she could feel his arousal,”<br />
and would begin kissing and<br />
licking her neck and chest. When<br />
Sanchez tried to complain to Rosen<br />
about Gore’s conduct, she was<br />
transferred out of the unit to less<br />
prestigious duties. The lawsuit alleges<br />
Rosen and the Harris County<br />
District Attorney´s Office were<br />
told about what was happening<br />
by a victims’ advocate working<br />
with the human trafficking unit,<br />
but they took no action.<br />
“We need to end corruption and<br />
(complicity) in people in power,”<br />
Jacquelyn Aluotto, the victims´<br />
advocate and who filed the lawsuit<br />
along with the deputies, said at a<br />
news conference. Aluotto alleges<br />
she was essentially fired as her<br />
hours were cut to zero after she<br />
told authorities what happened to<br />
the deputies.<br />
“In this matter, our sex crimes<br />
division quickly asked Constable<br />
Pct. 1 Internal Affairs to investigate<br />
whether there was evidence of a<br />
crime and Ms. Aluotto has stated<br />
she contacted the Texas Rangers.<br />
<strong>No</strong>thing has been presented to<br />
prosecutors by either agency,” said<br />
Dane Schiller, a spokesman for the<br />
Harris County District Attorney´s<br />
Office.<br />
Constable Rosen released the<br />
following statement after news of<br />
the lawsuit went public:<br />
“When we were made aware of<br />
a concern by a third party several<br />
months ago, I proactively instructed<br />
our Internal Affairs Division to<br />
conduct an investigation. We did<br />
this even though no one made a<br />
formal complaint. This is consistent<br />
with our ongoing commitment<br />
to protecting victims and our<br />
personnel. My sensitivity toward<br />
victims remains our highest priority.”<br />
To this day, not one of these<br />
plaintiffs has ever made a formal<br />
complaint. Each employee interviewed<br />
was given the opportunity,<br />
in a safe environment, to express<br />
any concerns. Their own interview<br />
statements contradict many<br />
of the allegations in the lawsuit.<br />
Upon conclusion of our internal<br />
investigation, our Administrative<br />
Disciplinary Committee found no<br />
violations of law or policy.<br />
When we began our proactive<br />
internal investigation, we immediately<br />
transferred leadership of the<br />
Human Trafficking Unit to another<br />
supervisor who still maintains<br />
oversight of that unit today.<br />
VICTIM’S VOICES MATTER. I have<br />
a zero-tolerance stance against<br />
sexual assault and sexual harassment<br />
and would never allow<br />
a hostile work environment as<br />
alleged. This lawsuit is an effort<br />
to impugn the good reputation of<br />
the hard-working men and women<br />
of the Precinct One Constable’s<br />
Office. I believe our system of due<br />
process works and that justice and<br />
truth will prevail as facts in this<br />
case come to light. We will have<br />
no further comment today on this<br />
matter.<br />
UPDATE – As we went to press,<br />
another female deputy came<br />
forward with sexual misconduct<br />
allegations against the Harris<br />
County Precinct 1 Constable’s<br />
Office.<br />
The female deputy shared<br />
her story in a news conference<br />
Wednesday June 2.<br />
Her attorney says her commander<br />
repeatedly touched her<br />
and fondled her during an undercover<br />
operation, and she was<br />
instructed to let him do so.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
16 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 17
18 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 19
League City to Hold Teen Police Academy<br />
High school<br />
students are<br />
invited to join<br />
the men and<br />
women of the<br />
League City<br />
Police Department<br />
to explore<br />
a career in law<br />
enforcement.<br />
Students will<br />
experience a<br />
“behind the<br />
badge” view<br />
of core police<br />
functions and<br />
what it takes to<br />
become a police<br />
officer. The<br />
Teen Academy<br />
consists of a<br />
series of classes<br />
and handson<br />
activities<br />
designed to give the cadets<br />
a working knowledge of our<br />
police department.<br />
The Teen Academy is open<br />
to teens 14 to 18 years of age<br />
who reside in League City or<br />
attend a League City public<br />
or private school, including<br />
those who are home schooled<br />
in League City. The academy<br />
is free of charge and space<br />
is limited. The academy is<br />
scheduled for Monday July<br />
19th through Friday July 23rd<br />
from 8AM to 5PM. Must apply<br />
by July 2nd.<br />
Cadets will learn about:<br />
• Patrol Procedures<br />
• Crime Scene Investigation<br />
• Criminal Law<br />
• Firearms Safety<br />
• Traffic Stops<br />
• Positive Team Building Activities<br />
and More<br />
Applications are available in<br />
the LCPD front lobby desk.<br />
For more information, contact<br />
LCPD Community Outreach<br />
Officer<br />
Todd Young: 281-554-1848 /<br />
todd.young@lcpd.com<br />
This is an excellent opportunity<br />
for teens ages 14-18 years.<br />
Those that have gone through<br />
it really enjoyed what they got<br />
to learn about from classroom<br />
to hands on. Mark your calendars<br />
before you start making<br />
summer plans!<br />
In honor of Memorial Day, our<br />
team members visited the Houston<br />
National Cemetery to place<br />
839 American flags on the graves<br />
of past service members and to<br />
pay our respects to our fallen<br />
heroes. We solemnly unite in<br />
remembrance and appreciation<br />
of those who gave their lives for<br />
our nation.<br />
It was an important reminder<br />
of the neighbors and loved ones<br />
we’ve lost and a moment to<br />
salute their legacy and ultimate<br />
sacrifice. We paused to reflect<br />
on the distinguished history of<br />
our armed forces and the battles<br />
– even those well beyond war –<br />
our country’s veterans endured<br />
for the opportunities we have<br />
today.<br />
As a tribute to the fallen service<br />
men and women and their<br />
families across our communities,<br />
a bugler from the Sherriff’s<br />
Office Honor Guard sounded the<br />
moving music of Taps, a solemn<br />
and emotional signal of mourning<br />
and what Memorial Day is all<br />
about.<br />
Houston has one of the largest<br />
veteran populations in the<br />
nation, with more than 300,000<br />
military veterans calling our<br />
community home. Veterans are<br />
our neighbors, our colleagues,<br />
and our leaders. They represent<br />
and embody everything<br />
we should aspire to be – resilient<br />
and service-minded. Their<br />
stories and experiences inspire<br />
others to give back with pride.<br />
At the Sheriff’s Office, we also<br />
honor the many military veterans<br />
in our agency who continue to<br />
serve their communities. Veterans<br />
are represented in various roles,<br />
sworn and civilian, and at all<br />
levels of the agency. We benefit<br />
greatly from their wealth of experience<br />
and commitment to teamwork<br />
and serving others.<br />
We empower our veterans and<br />
foster a supportive culture for<br />
them. Our Office of Military Relations<br />
provides a wide range of<br />
support to our team members<br />
who are current military service<br />
members and veterans, as well<br />
as those in our larger community<br />
who served their country.<br />
As an agency, we’re always<br />
searching for ways to better<br />
support those who served, implementing<br />
department policies,<br />
procedures, and programs that<br />
equip them with a strong support<br />
system and a holistic approach to<br />
meeting their needs. Every veteran<br />
receives a welcome packet from<br />
our Office of Military Relations<br />
with valuable agency resources<br />
and contacts that will help<br />
them fulfill their military service<br />
or make their transition easier.<br />
We also work collaboratively<br />
with community partners, such<br />
as Combined Arms and the Travis<br />
Manion Foundation, to facilitate<br />
access to additional services. If<br />
you’re looking to make a difference,<br />
learn more about our career<br />
opportunities here. We’re grateful<br />
for the veterans in our ranks and<br />
their countless contributions to<br />
the Sheriff’s Office.<br />
This Memorial Day weekend,<br />
and all year long, we celebrate our<br />
country’s true heroes who have<br />
fought and sacrificed for our liberty<br />
and freedom. We owe them<br />
an enduring debt of gratitude.<br />
God bless you, and God bless<br />
the Sheriff’s Office.<br />
20 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 21
Despite objections from Police Groups, Constitutional Carry about to<br />
become law. Anyone over 21 can carry a handgun without a permit.<br />
HB 1927, known as “Constitutional Carry Bill”<br />
on the Way to Governor’s Desk for Signature<br />
Texas is now one small, inevitable<br />
step away from becoming the largest<br />
state in the U.S. to allow anyone<br />
21 and up to carry a handgun in<br />
public without a permit.<br />
Just after midnight on Monday<br />
May 24th, the Texas House put the<br />
finishing touches on the so-called<br />
constitutional carry legislation<br />
that now moves to the Senate for a<br />
nearly guaranteed vote to ship it to<br />
Gov. Greg Abbott who has already<br />
declared he will sign it into law.<br />
“Ultimately this bill restores a<br />
right to Texans that, to my knowledge,<br />
has not existed prior to 1871,”<br />
State Rep. Matt Shaefer, R-Tyler,<br />
said moments before the House voted<br />
82-62 to pass House Bill 1927.<br />
Republican supporters like<br />
Shaefer say the U.S. Constitution<br />
guarantees Americans the right<br />
to have guns. But he said the state<br />
over the decades has put barriers<br />
in place for gun owners, namely<br />
a license-to-carry permit process<br />
that requires handgun owners to<br />
go through safety training and pay<br />
a $40 fee. While gun advocates say<br />
they aren’t against safety courses, it<br />
should be voluntary and not mandatory.<br />
Both the House and Senate had<br />
previously passed versions of the<br />
permitless carry legislation, but<br />
differences between the versions<br />
forced a series of closed-door<br />
negotiating sessions to work out a<br />
compromise.<br />
Schaefer said the House had to<br />
give up some key provisions, but he<br />
said, “Ultimately we came out with<br />
a bill that is strong and no doubt<br />
is the strongest restoration of 2nd<br />
Amendment rights that any of us<br />
has ever seen in the history of the<br />
state of Texas.”<br />
About 20 other states have adopted<br />
such laws; Texas would be by far<br />
the largest.<br />
Democrats including State Rep.<br />
Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie,<br />
condemned the legislation, recalling<br />
mass shootings in El Paso and<br />
Odessa-Midland in 2019. Instead of<br />
addressing the epidemic of mass<br />
shootings, Turner said Republicans<br />
are only putting more guns on the<br />
street in the hands of untrained<br />
people.<br />
Abbott has left no doubt that he’ll<br />
sign the bill when it gets to him.<br />
Last month the governor tweeted:<br />
“Constitutional carry is moving in<br />
the #txlege. The strongest Second<br />
Amendment legislation in Texas<br />
history. Let’s get it to my desk for<br />
signing.”<br />
The bill had nearly died in March<br />
under the weight of opposition<br />
from law enforcement, and its rise<br />
is another reminder of the dramatic<br />
turns that happen during the state’s<br />
once every two-year legislative session.<br />
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican<br />
who oversees the Senate, had<br />
signaled early on that there weren’t<br />
enough yes-votes in that chamber<br />
to pass it.<br />
But over the weeks, the Senate<br />
added amendments to toughen<br />
penalties on felons who get caught<br />
carrying a gun illegally and bar<br />
people with convictions for domestic<br />
violence or making terroristic<br />
threats from openly carrying guns<br />
in public.<br />
Schaefer said he fought behind<br />
the scenes to strip off one of the<br />
amendments that was aimed at<br />
stopping police from disarming a<br />
person for officer safety purposes.<br />
Police officials were adamant that<br />
they needed the discretion to disarm<br />
people they come in contact with,<br />
even if only temporarily.<br />
But Schaefer said he was able<br />
to keep a provision in the bill that<br />
expunges people’s past convictions<br />
for carrying a gun without a<br />
license-to-carry permit, since that<br />
will not be a crime in Texas starting<br />
September 1, <strong>2021</strong> when the bill is<br />
expected to take effect.<br />
Gun rights advocacy groups celebrated<br />
early on Monday. Andi Turner,<br />
legislative director for the Texas<br />
State Rifle Association, told that<br />
groups members in an email there<br />
are still steps remaining to become<br />
law, “But I am putting the champagne<br />
in the refrigerator to chill.”<br />
Critics of the legislation, like Texas<br />
Gun Sense, say instead of stopping<br />
the proliferation of guns, the state is<br />
making a move to put more guns on<br />
the streets.<br />
22 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 23
Crime is Increasing and Number of Cops Decreasing<br />
“The Wheels are Coming” as Mayor’s Plan<br />
to ‘Reimagining’ Police Force Crumble<br />
AUSTIN, Texas —The Austin Police<br />
Department is in a state of crisis.<br />
More cuts to specialized APD units<br />
are coming this year, thanks to the<br />
“reimagining” of police led by Mayor<br />
Steve Adler and Councilmember<br />
Greg Casar. Travis County, meanwhile,<br />
steps up targeting police<br />
officers for prosecution.<br />
According to an internal document<br />
provided to the news media<br />
several units face deep cuts or outright<br />
elimination by summer’s end.<br />
The Sex Offender Apprehension and<br />
Registration (SOAR) unit is losing<br />
its officer positions, according to<br />
the APD document. Local Fox 7 TV<br />
has previously reported some of the<br />
cuts.<br />
“As more units are cut, work conditions<br />
for those who stay will continue<br />
to deteriorate, causing more<br />
folks to leave, causing more units<br />
to be cut, and so on. It is basically a<br />
death spiral,” said an inside source.<br />
This appears to be the case. Crime<br />
is sharply increasing in Austin, with<br />
31 homicides in the city so far in<br />
<strong>2021</strong>, far outpacing recent years. In<br />
2019, Austin had 14 homicides by the<br />
end of June, and in 2020, that number<br />
had increased to 23. Previously<br />
released reports indicated the cuts<br />
that were set to hit in early <strong>2021</strong>,<br />
which included the elimination of<br />
whole APD units and sharp reductions<br />
in district representative officers,<br />
who engage in community policing.<br />
Community policing was an<br />
initiative pushed by the left during<br />
the 1990s to improve policing. <strong>No</strong>w,<br />
the left-dominated<br />
Austin city<br />
council is all but<br />
abandoning community<br />
policing.<br />
At the same<br />
time, APD is also<br />
suffering a sharp<br />
increase in officer<br />
resignations<br />
and retirements<br />
thanks directly to<br />
the city council’s<br />
“reimagining”<br />
of police work,<br />
which began with<br />
the council’s vote<br />
to defund APD<br />
by about $140 to $150 million in<br />
August 2020.<br />
If current trends hold, APD could<br />
lose about 10% of its police officers<br />
this year. It was shorthanded entering<br />
2020. Its last two cadet classes<br />
were canceled, and the city council<br />
has voted to resume cadet classes<br />
on June 7.<br />
According to the document outlining<br />
the cuts, 10% of APD detectives<br />
will be reassigned to patrol.<br />
<strong>No</strong>tably, these will be detectives<br />
who have recently earned promotion.<br />
They will have earned promotion,<br />
only to be kept in or returned<br />
to their previous duties thanks to<br />
the deep and widespread cuts Mayor<br />
Adler spearheaded. This can be<br />
expected to decrease officer morale<br />
significantly.<br />
The cuts are coming in two<br />
phases. The first, which includes<br />
the elimination of the DWI and auto<br />
theft units, takes place June 6.<br />
The second phase is set to happen<br />
on August 1. The document indicates<br />
that the August cuts are ghastly.<br />
Many units across the entire department<br />
are sustaining significant cuts<br />
or going away.<br />
Interim APD Chief Joseph Chacon<br />
alerted department staff to the impending<br />
cuts in an email, and noted<br />
that they may create financial and<br />
other issues for officers.<br />
“I want you to know that we are<br />
aware these changes affect each of<br />
you in different ways, and we want<br />
to provide support and resources<br />
during the transition period,” Chacon<br />
says in the email. “If this staffing reallocation<br />
impacts you directly and<br />
you have extenuating circumstances,<br />
our hardship process is an option<br />
available to you.”<br />
24 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 25
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Despite being de-funded by their Mayor, two Austin cops risk their lives<br />
and defy flames to rescue a man just before his truck explodes.<br />
Austin Officers Drag a Man to Safety Seconds<br />
Before His Truck Explodes.<br />
By Kelsey Bradshaw<br />
Austin American-Statesman<br />
AUSTIN, Texas — A man was<br />
pulled from a burning pickup truck<br />
just before it exploded at a South<br />
Austin apartment complex last<br />
month.<br />
Firefighters, Austin-Travis County<br />
EMS medics and Austin police<br />
officers responded around 4:40 p.m.<br />
to The Enclave apartment complex<br />
in the 1000 block of West Stassney<br />
Lane, just west of South First Street,<br />
after receiving reports of a vehicle<br />
that was engulfed in flames with a<br />
person trapped inside.<br />
Officers Chandler Carrera and<br />
Eddie Pineda arrived at the scene<br />
before firefighters and pulled the<br />
man out of the truck. They smashed<br />
a window to open the truck’s door<br />
and dragged the man out before it<br />
became totally engulfed and exploded.<br />
The man, whom authorities did<br />
not identify, was taken to Dell Seton<br />
Medical Center with serious, and<br />
potentially life-threatening smoke<br />
inhalation injuries, medics said.<br />
Fire officials said the man experienced<br />
a medical emergency at the<br />
same time he had finished backing<br />
into a parking spot. He was able to<br />
park the truck, but his foot was still<br />
on the accelerator, officials said.<br />
He was unable to move his foot<br />
off the pedal, which caused the tires<br />
to spin in place and trigger the fire.<br />
CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO<br />
Tony Farmer, 36, was in his home<br />
on the third floor of Heatherwood<br />
II Condominiums next door to the<br />
apartments when he heard a loud<br />
bang.<br />
Next, Farmer heard car alarms<br />
going off and he went to a stairwell<br />
outside at his condo to see what<br />
was happening. He saw nearly a<br />
dozen bystanders in the parking lot<br />
of the apartment complex and Austin<br />
police rushing into the parking<br />
lot.<br />
A man standing near the burning<br />
truck yelled at an officer: “He’s<br />
in there! He’s still in there! He’s in<br />
there!”<br />
Farmer said if it hadn’t been for<br />
that man, he’s not sure anyone<br />
would have known the man was<br />
still trapped inside because the vehicle<br />
was so covered in flames.<br />
The officer got out his baton,<br />
whacked the truck’s window a<br />
couple of times and, with the help<br />
of the other officer, pulled the man<br />
30 to 50 feet away from the vehicle,<br />
Farmer said.<br />
Then, the truck exploded.<br />
“It exploded a little bit, almost<br />
like in the movies, not like a huge<br />
explosion like atomic, but it engulfed<br />
more about 20 seconds after<br />
(the man) was removed from the<br />
vehicle,” Farmer said.<br />
He said it was like watching a<br />
movie.<br />
“The whole thing was crazy,”<br />
Farmer said. “Those cops, there’s no<br />
doubt about it— they risked their<br />
lives and they’re heroes. There’s no<br />
doubt about it.”<br />
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26 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 27
Texas Bans Reality TV & COP Shows<br />
Gov. Abbott signs Javier Ambler Act, banning reality TV shows<br />
from partnering with law enforcement, effective immediately.<br />
AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg<br />
Abbott has signed into law the<br />
Javier Ambler Act, which bans<br />
reality TV shows from partnering<br />
with Texas law enforcement.<br />
House Bill 54 passed the Texas<br />
House 110-34 on April 15, before<br />
making its way to the Senate,<br />
where it passed on May 13th in<br />
a 27-3 vote. After Abbott’s signature<br />
on Wednesday, the law<br />
became effective immediately.<br />
State Rep. James Talarico put<br />
the proposal forward after the<br />
KVUE Defenders last year first<br />
revealed the details of Ambler’s<br />
death after an encounter with<br />
Williamson County deputies.<br />
Ambler died on March 28, 2019,<br />
following a car chase. Williamson<br />
County deputies began chasing<br />
him after he failed to dim his<br />
headlights, touching off a pursuit<br />
that ended in <strong>No</strong>rth Austin.<br />
Deputies used tasers on him as<br />
he shouted that he had a heart<br />
condition and could not breathe.<br />
This all happened while crews<br />
from the now canceled show<br />
“Live PD” filmed.<br />
“Policing is not entertainment,”<br />
said Talarico. “I’m proud<br />
that Democrats and Republicans<br />
came together to pass this bill to<br />
protect our citizens and restore<br />
integrity in law enforcement.”<br />
<strong>No</strong>w, the law will ban entertainment<br />
shows like<br />
“Live PD”<br />
from partnering<br />
with<br />
Texas law<br />
enforcement.<br />
Talarico<br />
and Sen.<br />
John Whitmire,<br />
who<br />
sponsored<br />
the bill in<br />
the Senate,<br />
believe that such partnerships<br />
cause officers to perform for the<br />
cameras instead of doing sound<br />
police work.<br />
Former deputies J.J. Johnson<br />
and Zach Camden have been<br />
indicted on charges of manslaughter<br />
in Ambler’s death.<br />
Former Williamson County<br />
Sheriff Robert Chody and Austin<br />
lawyer Jason Nassour have also<br />
been indicted in connection to<br />
the case.<br />
Jeff Edwards of the Edwards<br />
Law Group released the following<br />
statement on behalf of<br />
Ambler’s parents:<br />
“Javier Ambler was killed because<br />
Williamson County deputies<br />
were encouraged to produce<br />
exciting reality television instead<br />
of simply protecting and serving<br />
the public.<br />
“As a consequence of this<br />
unconscionable decision by the<br />
County and its Sheriff, a beloved<br />
father and son was senselessly<br />
killed.<br />
The big question for fans of<br />
the TV show “Lone Star Law” is,<br />
“Will it come back for another<br />
season?” House Bill 54 does have<br />
a provision that exempts game<br />
wardens, even though they are in<br />
fact Texas Peace Officers.<br />
On March 14, <strong>2021</strong>, at approximately<br />
9:08 p.m., officers were dispatched<br />
to the Banyan Cove Apartments at<br />
3001 East League City Parkway to<br />
assist EMS with an unconscious male<br />
who was possibly suffering from a<br />
drug overdose. Upon their arrival,<br />
Officer Pierre Nguyen, Officer Dominic<br />
Takach, and Officer Jason Ha<br />
retrieved their emergency medical<br />
supplies including doses of NAR-<br />
CAN from their patrol vehicles and<br />
entered the apartment. They found<br />
a 46-year-old male unconscious on<br />
the floor with his friend performing<br />
CPR.<br />
Officers checked the victim for<br />
signs of life and found that he had<br />
a pulse but was sweating profusely<br />
with shallow, ineffective, agonal<br />
Pictured above are, Officer Nguyen, Chief Ratliff, Officer Ha<br />
breathing. These officers recognized<br />
the victim’s symptoms were often<br />
associated with an opioid overdose.<br />
All three officers were prepared to<br />
provide lifesaving measures. Officer<br />
Nguyen continued assessing the<br />
victim and was trying to stimulate<br />
his body to breathe, and Officer<br />
Ha administered the first dose of<br />
NARCAN.<br />
After a few moments, Officer<br />
Nguyen rolled the victim onto his<br />
side to protect his airway from<br />
obstruction, and the victim slowly<br />
began breathing again but was labored<br />
and appeared ineffective. Officer<br />
Takach administered a second<br />
dose of NARCAN, and Officer Nguyen<br />
continued to stimulate the victim by<br />
moving his body after each dose of<br />
NARCAN. During this process, the victim’s<br />
breathing appeared to improve.<br />
During this time, the victim’s friend<br />
advised that he was suspected of<br />
taking Suboxone and Heroin.<br />
Once League City EMS personnel<br />
arrived, these officers assisted loading<br />
the victim onto the gurney, and<br />
by that time, the victim’s condition<br />
had greatly improved by regaining<br />
consciousness.<br />
The quick lifesaving measures provided<br />
by Officer Nguyen, Officer Takach,<br />
and Officer Ha saved the victim’s<br />
life and gave him the opportunity<br />
to have a second chance at life. On<br />
this day, these officers demonstrated<br />
their true commitment and devotion<br />
to service and are great ambassadors<br />
for the League City Police<br />
28 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 29
Governor Abbott Signs ‘Back the Blue’ Legislation<br />
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott<br />
today (June 1, 20201) signed<br />
several pieces of legislation into<br />
law that will stop cities from defunding<br />
the police and enhance<br />
penalties for criminal activities<br />
that interfere with or harm law<br />
enforcement. The Governor was<br />
joined for the bill signing by<br />
members of the Texas Legislature,<br />
the Combined Law Enforcement<br />
Associations of Texas, the<br />
Texas Fraternal Order of Police,<br />
the Texas Municipal Police Association,<br />
the Austin Police Association,<br />
the Texas State Troopers<br />
Association, and the Justices of<br />
the Peace and Constables Association<br />
of Texas. The Governor<br />
made preventing cities from defunding<br />
the police an emergency<br />
item this session.<br />
“The men and women of law<br />
enforcement put their lives on<br />
the line every day to keep Texans<br />
safe, and they deserve our<br />
enduring support and gratitude,”<br />
said Governor Abbott. “Efforts to<br />
defund the police are downright<br />
dangerous, and these laws will<br />
prevent cities from making this<br />
reckless decision. These laws also<br />
help protect our law enforcement<br />
officers in the line of duty<br />
by enhancing penalties for crimes<br />
committed against them such as<br />
using fireworks or laser pointers<br />
to harm or obstruct the police.<br />
With these laws, we are bolstering<br />
our support for law enforcement<br />
while ensuring a safer<br />
future for all Texans. I applaud the<br />
Texas Legislature for joining me in<br />
passing these priority items and<br />
for making sure Texas remains a<br />
law-and-order state.”<br />
HOUSE BILL 9<br />
(Klick/Campbell) enhances the<br />
criminal penalty to a state jail felony<br />
offense for anyone who knowingly<br />
blocks an emergency vehicle<br />
or obstructs access to a hospital or<br />
health care facility.<br />
HOUSE BILL 1900<br />
(Goldman/Huffman) freezes<br />
property tax revenues for cities<br />
with a population over 250,000<br />
that defund the police. Under this<br />
law, cities that defund the police<br />
will lose their annexation powers<br />
for 10 years and any area annexed<br />
by a defunding city in the past 30<br />
years can vote to dis-annex from<br />
the city. It also allows the State<br />
of Texas to withhold sales taxes<br />
collected by a defunding city<br />
and give it to the Texas D.P.S. to<br />
pay for the cost of state resources<br />
used to protect residents of a<br />
defunded municipality.<br />
HOUSE BILL 2366<br />
(Buckley/Hughes) enhances<br />
criminal penalties for the use of<br />
laser pointers and creates an offense<br />
for the use of fireworks to<br />
harm or obstruct the police.<br />
SENATE BILL 23<br />
(Huffman/Oliverson) requires<br />
voter approval to reduce law<br />
enforcement budgets in counties<br />
with a population of more than<br />
one million. If voter approval is<br />
not received, but the county still<br />
defunds the police, the county’s<br />
property tax revenue will be<br />
frozen.<br />
30 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 31
Officer calls for backup while dozens of party goers jump on his patrol car.<br />
Angry Mob Trap St. Louis Officer Inside<br />
Patrol Car After Responding to Complaints<br />
St. Louis city officials say a<br />
group of partygoers jumped on<br />
and substantially damaged a<br />
police patrol vehicle while an<br />
officer was trapped inside early<br />
Sunday morning.<br />
A police spokesperson told<br />
Fox2 the department received a<br />
total of 13 calls around 2:30 a.m.<br />
Sunday morning for a large party<br />
on the top floor of an apartment<br />
building. Police claim as the<br />
responding officers attempted to<br />
disband the crowd of more than<br />
100 people, they began to congregate<br />
outside the building.<br />
The officer inside was reportedly<br />
not injured.<br />
The mob was dispersed when<br />
backup officers arrived.<br />
Mayor Tishaura Jones said in a<br />
tweet Monday, “While I’m thankful<br />
the St. Louis Metropolitan<br />
Police Department responded<br />
quickly and dispersed the crowd<br />
without conflict of injury, I’m<br />
disappointed in those people<br />
who will now have to face consequences<br />
for their behavior.”<br />
The police department is now<br />
asking for the public to help<br />
them identify anyone in the videos<br />
the department released or<br />
in other social media posts.<br />
WATCH VIDEO<br />
HERE >>>><br />
Another “not cool” Photo Op<br />
This photo emerged a day after suspect Eric Boykin was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly holding up<br />
a Hancock Bank in the small town of Prentiss, Mississippi, and fleeing the scene. Multiple federal and<br />
state law enforcement agencies including the FBI and ATF joined the search before Boykin was found in<br />
a wooded area about 600 yards from the bank, according to WLBT. The outlet published the photo of<br />
Boykin - who’s smiling - flanked by four armed officers and three police dogs. The image immediately<br />
sparked backlash on social media as critics slammed the officers for turning the serious ordeal into a<br />
silly photo-op.<br />
get your<br />
FREE SUBSCRIPTION<br />
to The BLUES, scan the<br />
QR code or click here.<br />
32 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 33
School Votes to Disarm School Resource Officers<br />
<strong>No</strong> longer allowed to carry a firearm<br />
because it “makes students scared.”<br />
MONROE COUNTY, IN – Following<br />
a school board vote earlier<br />
in May, resource officers posted<br />
within Monroe County Community<br />
Schools will no longer be allowed<br />
to carry a firearm.<br />
Reportedly the rationale from<br />
some within the school board to<br />
enact this measure is because officers<br />
carrying guns “signify” that<br />
students “have something to be<br />
afraid of.”<br />
During the school board meeting<br />
on the evening of May 18th,<br />
the board had voted to change the<br />
policy regarding school resource<br />
officers carrying firearms on<br />
school property.<br />
While Monroe County Community<br />
Schools will still employ<br />
school resource officers, the new<br />
policy removes their permission<br />
to carry firearms while on school<br />
property.<br />
Apparently, this measure came<br />
to fruition based upon a general<br />
consensus that it’s important<br />
to make students feel welcome<br />
when they come into school, with<br />
school board member April Hennessey<br />
stating the following:<br />
“For many people, guns signify<br />
that we have something to be<br />
afraid of. If we say that schools<br />
are safe, then we have to lean into<br />
that.”<br />
Prior to the vote coming to its<br />
conclusion during the evening of<br />
May 18th, the school board did<br />
read one letter that reportedly<br />
came from a nurse that criticized<br />
the then-proposed policy change.<br />
An excerpt from the letter stated<br />
the following:<br />
“I feel it’s absurd you have decided<br />
to take such drastic actions<br />
without consulting with those<br />
officers.”<br />
As it turns out, the nurse that<br />
wrote that letter is not alone<br />
in their thought that disarming<br />
school resource officers is a bit<br />
drastic.<br />
Chase Lyday, who is with the<br />
Indiana SRO Association, is among<br />
the crowd that believes having<br />
properly trained school resource<br />
officers that have access to a firearm<br />
makes schools safer.<br />
“Disarming school resource<br />
officers prevents them from doing<br />
the full weight of responsibility<br />
they’ve been asked to do in the<br />
schools. It doesn’t align with best<br />
practice.”<br />
“School resource officers should<br />
be carefully selected and trained to<br />
do a job and properly equipped to<br />
do that job.”<br />
Local news outlet FOX 59 wound<br />
up reaching out to several school<br />
districts around central Indiana to<br />
see if those other districts were<br />
prohibiting school resource officers<br />
from carrying weapons.<br />
The news outlet couldn’t find<br />
any other school districts enacting<br />
such mandates.<br />
Reportedly one school board<br />
member did vote against the<br />
change with respect to disarming<br />
school resource officers, urging the<br />
school board to delay the decision<br />
until a new superintendent takes<br />
over in July of this year. However,<br />
that request failed to pass.<br />
Chicago Unveils New Foot Pursuit Policy Following<br />
Multiple Shootings<br />
Among its rules, the new policy bans pursuits for minor traffic violations and bars<br />
officers from separating from partners if they can’t see the suspect.<br />
By Herbert G. McCann<br />
Associated Press<br />
CHICAGO — The Chicago Police<br />
Department on Wednesday<br />
announced a new foot-pursuit<br />
policy that officials say makes<br />
the safety of officers and members<br />
of the public a priority.<br />
The new policy comes in the<br />
wake of foot pursuits that ended<br />
in the fatal shooting by police<br />
earlier this year of Adam Toledo,<br />
13, and Anthony Alvarez, 21.<br />
Among its rules, the new policy<br />
prohibits foot pursuits for minor<br />
traffic violations, bars officers<br />
from separating from partners if<br />
they can’t see the person they’re<br />
chasing or if the officer or the<br />
person is injured. Under the new<br />
policy, the chase must end if<br />
the officer has lost track of their<br />
location or their surroundings,<br />
if there is too much distance or<br />
obstacles between the officer<br />
and the person they are chasing,<br />
and if they will not be able to<br />
control the subject of the chase<br />
in a confrontation.<br />
In addition, officers must first<br />
consider if the need to apprehend<br />
a suspect is worth the risk<br />
to the officer, the public or the<br />
subject before a foot pursuit<br />
takes place. The policy also says<br />
officers can pursue people on<br />
foot only if they have probable<br />
cause the person committed<br />
a crime or believe that they’re<br />
about to commit one.<br />
Police officers must<br />
activate body worn<br />
cameras for every<br />
foot pursuit.<br />
Superintendent<br />
David Brown said officers<br />
had been using<br />
the strategies during<br />
foot chases, but<br />
making the strategy<br />
a written policy will<br />
make officers subject<br />
to disciplinary action<br />
if they violate it. The<br />
new policy will temporarily go<br />
into effect June 11. The public<br />
will have an opportunity to offer<br />
feedback before it becomes permanent<br />
in September.<br />
“It’s essential the voices of our<br />
officers and community members<br />
are represented in policies<br />
that can directly affect them,”<br />
Brown said. “As we transform<br />
the police department through<br />
reform, we will continue to<br />
collaborate with our residents to<br />
make Chicago safer for everyone.”<br />
The announcement of the new<br />
policy comes four years after the<br />
Department of Justice issued a<br />
report saying too many Chicago<br />
police chases were unnecessary<br />
or ended with officers shooting<br />
people they didn’t need to and<br />
two years after a judge signed<br />
off on a consent decree requiring<br />
the department to adopt a foot<br />
pursuit policy.<br />
The week after the fatal shootings<br />
of Toledo on March 29 and<br />
Alvarez on March 31, which video<br />
shows were holding handguns<br />
right before or as officers shot<br />
them, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced<br />
the department would<br />
implement a foot pursuit policy<br />
by summer.<br />
“Because foot pursuits are one<br />
of the most dangerous actions<br />
that police officers can engage<br />
in, we cannot afford to wait any<br />
longer to put a policy in place<br />
that regulates them,” Lightfoot<br />
said in a statement announcing<br />
the policy.<br />
Police officials say officers<br />
will undergo training to familiarize<br />
them with the new policy.<br />
The training will focus on the<br />
responsibilities of the pursuing<br />
officer, including the considerations<br />
the officer must take<br />
into account before taking up a<br />
pursuit and what should be done<br />
during a pursuit.<br />
34 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 35
Deputy who mocked LeBron James is<br />
fired for ‘continued policy violations.’<br />
“His termination had nothing to do with the video.”<br />
By Jacob Scholl<br />
The Idaho Statesman<br />
BELLEVUE, Idaho — An Idaho law<br />
enforcement officer who gained<br />
notoriety for his TikTok videos has<br />
been fired from his job.<br />
In a Facebook post last month,<br />
Bellevue Mayor Ned Burns wrote<br />
that Deputy Marshal Nate Silvester<br />
was terminated from the Bellevue<br />
City Marshal’s Office for “continued<br />
policy violations.”<br />
According to Burns, Silvester violated<br />
“several” city and state policies<br />
on policing during the week of<br />
May 20. Because of previous policy<br />
violations, Silvester had been placed<br />
on a “last chance agreement” with<br />
his commanding officers.<br />
“Because of his continued policy<br />
violations, the Marshal has terminated<br />
Mr. Sylvester effective May<br />
27th, <strong>2021</strong>,” Burns wrote.<br />
The mayor said Silvester’s termination<br />
had nothing to do with his<br />
online posts that first landed him in<br />
the public eye.<br />
“He was not terminated for the<br />
content of his speech; he was<br />
terminated for his failure to follow<br />
clearly laid out and well-established<br />
policy,” Burns wrote.<br />
The decision to fire Silvester was<br />
not made by the mayor or city<br />
council, but rather by the Bellevue<br />
Marshal’s Office. Burns wrote that<br />
he and the council are supportive of<br />
the decision made by City Marshal<br />
Mynde Heil.<br />
Silvester gained notoriety after a<br />
video he posted to TikTok, a social<br />
media platform, was viewed millions<br />
of times. In it, Silvester is in<br />
his police uniform and sitting in his<br />
patrol car while he criticizes NBA<br />
star LeBron James by pretending to<br />
take a call from James.<br />
The Los Angeles Laker tweeted<br />
a photo of Columbus, Ohio, police<br />
officer Nicholas Reardon after<br />
the officer fatally shot 16-year-old<br />
Ma’Khia Bryant, who is black, four<br />
times. In the since-deleted tweet,<br />
James wrote, “YOU’RE NEXT. #AC-<br />
COUNTABILITY.”<br />
The tweet appeared to reference<br />
the conviction of former Minneapolis<br />
police officer Derek Chauvin,<br />
who was found guilty of murder<br />
for killing George Floyd. The verdict<br />
came just a day before the Ohio<br />
police shooting.<br />
After Silvester’s video went viral<br />
on social media, the Bellevue<br />
Marshal’s Office issued a statement<br />
about the deputy’s opinions online.<br />
“The statements made do NOT<br />
represent the Bellevue Marshal’s<br />
Office,” the April 27 Facebook post<br />
read. “The Bellevue Marshal’s Office<br />
always demands that our deputies<br />
engage with our citizens in a<br />
friendly and professional manner.”<br />
Silvester was suspended from the<br />
department for several days without<br />
pay, prompting a GoFundMe<br />
fundraiser to raise money for the<br />
deputy. As of Thursday, the Go-<br />
FundMe web page had surpassed<br />
CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO<br />
$520,000 in donations.<br />
Silvester posted several times<br />
online thanking supporters for the<br />
donations, and later said he landed<br />
a book deal. According to his TikTok<br />
page, the book deal is through Di<br />
Angelo Publications.<br />
Silvester started posting on TikTok<br />
in December 2020, and he has continued<br />
to post on TikTok since his<br />
first suspension. In one post, Silvester<br />
is in uniform when he ignores<br />
what appears to be an imaginary<br />
fight occurring outside of his patrol<br />
car, with the phrase “When a pedophile<br />
is about to get his a— beat”<br />
visible on the screen.<br />
In Silvester’s latest video on<br />
TikTok, he shows a video in which<br />
gunshots can be heard at George<br />
Floyd Square in Minneapolis near<br />
where Floyd was killed. Silvester<br />
ends the video saying: “I can’t think<br />
of a more fitting way to celebrate<br />
the memory of a career criminal<br />
than to have a shootout in the middle<br />
of a public street.”<br />
36 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE <strong>37</strong>
Fallout From the ‘Defund’ Movement<br />
As many experts predicted, we have seen a rise in violent crime<br />
accompanied by an increase in officer retirements and resignations.<br />
By James Dudley<br />
As one of my heroes, Gordon Graham,<br />
says, “Predictable is preventable.”<br />
That is surely the case when<br />
it comes to the “ready, fire, aim”<br />
approach (act first, think after) of<br />
the “defund the police” movement.<br />
As many law enforcement experts<br />
predicted, we have seen a rise<br />
in violence in several cities across<br />
America, both large and small. The<br />
fall-out from the defunding rhetoric,<br />
in both words and deeds, not<br />
only impacted crime rates, but also<br />
caused an increase in attrition from<br />
early retirements, lateral transfers<br />
to other agencies, or officers simply<br />
quitting due to low morale.<br />
Looking back on my article from a<br />
year ago, my main predictions were<br />
modest:<br />
In several cities that defunded law<br />
enforcement agencies by millions<br />
of dollars, that strategy has been<br />
reversed, due to rising crime rates<br />
and complaints from communities<br />
most hard hit by crime.<br />
“THREATS TO REDUCE FUND-<br />
ING WILL NOT BE SIGNIFICANT TO<br />
ACTUAL DEPLOYMENT OF FIELD<br />
OFFICERS.”<br />
I predicted that the threats to<br />
reduce funding and resources for<br />
police would have little impact on<br />
day-to-day operations and was little<br />
more than “saber-rattling.” Well,<br />
I was certainly wrong about that.<br />
The domino effect has caused<br />
agencies to scramble to put as<br />
many officers as possible on the<br />
front lines<br />
to respond<br />
to rising violent<br />
crime.<br />
This has left<br />
fewer investigators<br />
to follow up<br />
with investigations<br />
and lower<br />
customer<br />
satisfaction.<br />
It also<br />
left fewer<br />
officers on<br />
the street<br />
to handle<br />
lower, yet<br />
still important, calls for service to<br />
keep smoldering problems from<br />
becoming raging firestorms. Politicians<br />
and elected officials have<br />
seen the negative impact, and many<br />
are beginning to revisit their foray<br />
into their social experiments.<br />
REDUCTION IN “SOCIAL PROB-<br />
LEMS POLICING”<br />
This was a prediction that was<br />
and continues to be accurate in that<br />
many large cities with financial resources<br />
are looking for alternatives<br />
to law enforcement responding to<br />
issues surrounding mental illness,<br />
homelessness and drug abuse.<br />
While the CAHOOTS program<br />
in Oregon has been held as the<br />
sterling example of mental health<br />
outreach programs, creating new<br />
teams to deal with the issues of<br />
mental health, homelessness, and<br />
alcohol and drug addictions remains<br />
a challenge. Some cities have<br />
tried to create civilian teams with<br />
EMS and firefighters responding<br />
with social workers. The struggle<br />
has been to create, train and deploy<br />
enough teams to deal with the<br />
number of calls for service in those<br />
categories.<br />
With more than an estimated<br />
18,000 documented calls for service<br />
for these types of issues, the<br />
San Francisco teams still can only<br />
respond to less than 20% of calls<br />
currently. Reports indicate one<br />
call can take one to four hours to<br />
assess, address and move an individual<br />
to services. People may now<br />
understand the volume of calls for<br />
service dedicated to these issues<br />
that should not have been relegated<br />
to the police in the first place.<br />
Still, more can be done to<br />
relieve law enforcement officers<br />
from duties better suited for<br />
EMS providers, mental health<br />
clinicians and public health and<br />
public works departments.<br />
“POLICE AS FIREFIGHTERS”<br />
In the sense that police will<br />
only respond to calls in their<br />
most volatile and advanced<br />
state of decay, this has seemed<br />
to become a reality.<br />
In many cities and towns, law<br />
enforcement agencies have had<br />
to prioritize the types of calls<br />
that required immediate, urgent<br />
and low-level responses.<br />
Certainly, some calls for service<br />
may be delayed without<br />
consequence, but we may see<br />
the impact further down the road<br />
in the form of under-reporting of<br />
crime, increased violent and property<br />
crime, and even vigilantism.<br />
The impact on business has been<br />
felt, not only due to the impact from<br />
COVID-19 regulations but also from<br />
de-criminalized property crime<br />
laws and mass early releases of<br />
those previously incarcerated.<br />
RELIEF IN SIGHT<br />
In several cities that defunded law<br />
enforcement agencies by millions<br />
of dollars, that strategy has been<br />
reversed, due to rising crime rates<br />
and complaints from communities<br />
most hard hit by crime.<br />
Cities like Portland, Oregon, Los<br />
Angeles, California, Baltimore,<br />
Maryland, Minneapolis, Minnesota<br />
and Chicago, Illinois serve as cautionary<br />
tales of the failed strategies<br />
to reduce police. Some cities have<br />
re-funded their departments to<br />
pre-defunding levels, while some<br />
actually increased the budgets.<br />
As the forewarned social experiment<br />
plays out, the benefits may<br />
be realized in the forms of new<br />
recruitment efforts and with systems<br />
created and being put in place<br />
to deal with issues that may allow<br />
law enforcement to concentrate on<br />
issues of crime, rather than social<br />
services.<br />
About the Author: James Dudley is<br />
a 32-year veteran of the San Francisco<br />
Police Department where he<br />
retired as deputy chief of the Patrol<br />
Bureau.<br />
38 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 39
What Happened to Susan Miller?<br />
There is no doubt bad cops are<br />
living and working among us.<br />
They come into the station and<br />
go through the same motions<br />
each of us do. They do the same<br />
paperwork, write the same<br />
reports and make traffic stops.<br />
Every once in a while, you back<br />
them up on calls. In order words,<br />
in all respects they seem normal<br />
and just like the rest of us. Until<br />
one day, the dirty filthy truth<br />
comes spilling out and everyone<br />
is like “<strong>No</strong> fucking way? <strong>No</strong>t him!<br />
I had no idea.”<br />
Unfortunately, cops are human,<br />
and humans fuck up. Hell, if they<br />
didn’t, they wouldn’t need us,<br />
right? But cops are supposed to<br />
be better than everyone else, a<br />
step above. And certainly not the<br />
scumbags we arrest every day.<br />
All of this takes me back to<br />
my first years on the job. When<br />
I met Joe. He worked evenings<br />
and I worked days. Joe was that<br />
cocky, asshole cop that always<br />
thought he was better than<br />
everyone else. And I don’t mean<br />
with the general public, I mean<br />
everyone including his fellow<br />
cops. He thought he was a number<br />
one supreme. In other words,<br />
the guy was just an asshole.<br />
But since we worked opposite<br />
shifts I rarely, if ever, had<br />
to interact with the guy. That is<br />
until one day I was dispatched to<br />
Joe’s apartment complex where<br />
he worked security. A disturbance<br />
call at the office, involving<br />
a white female and Hispanic<br />
male. I pulled into the parking<br />
lot and found a young 20 something<br />
white female sitting on the<br />
curb just outside the office. She<br />
was obviously upset, crying and<br />
looked like terrified.<br />
Ma’am I’m Officer Barrett,<br />
are you the one who called the<br />
police? She was shaking uncontrollably<br />
and could hardly speak.<br />
Do you need an ambulance? Are<br />
you injured? What’s going on?<br />
She just looked up at me with<br />
a blank stare and this terrified<br />
look. As long as I live, I will never<br />
forget the look on her face or the<br />
tremble in her voice when she<br />
spoke.<br />
“I’m not sure you can help<br />
me. I’mmm, I’mmmm I’mmmm<br />
soooooo, scared. Are you going<br />
to hurt me too? Are you one of<br />
WORDS BY OFFICER BARRETT<br />
his friends? Did he send you here<br />
to take me away?”<br />
Who is HE ma’am? Did someone<br />
hurt you? What’s your name<br />
ma’am?<br />
“Yes, yesssss! He he he, said if I<br />
wouldn’t be with him, he’d make<br />
me regret it. I’m afraid he’s going<br />
to hurt me. I don’t want to die.<br />
But are you going to try and kill<br />
me too?<br />
Ma’am I’m here to help you.<br />
<strong>No</strong> one is going to hurt you now<br />
that I’m here. I can promise you<br />
that. Can you stand up? Is there<br />
somewhere we can talk? In your<br />
office? Are you here alone?<br />
“NO! NOT HERE! He can’t see us<br />
talking. He said he’d kill me if I<br />
ever talked to another officer.”<br />
Who is HE Ma’am? Who is<br />
threatening you? Who wants to<br />
kill you?<br />
“Officer Joe!”<br />
What? Who is Officer Joe?<br />
“He lives here. He is our onsite<br />
security officer. He’s a cop just<br />
like you. Please don’t kill me.<br />
PLEASE!!!”<br />
Ok, ma’am you need to come<br />
with me. We walked towards my<br />
patrol car and she stopped dead<br />
in her tracks as soon as she saw<br />
the unit. “OMG, please don’t kill<br />
me!”<br />
Ma’am what is your name?<br />
“Susan….Susan MMMMMMMiller.”<br />
Ms. Miller, look at me. <strong>No</strong> one is<br />
going to hurt you or kill you. I’m<br />
here to help you, do you understand?<br />
I need you to stop crying<br />
so we can talk, and you can tell<br />
me what’s going on with this Joe<br />
person. Do you understand?<br />
“Yessss.”<br />
Just next door was a Starbucks<br />
that had tables and chairs outside.<br />
I asked her if she was okay<br />
to walk next door so I could get<br />
more information on what the<br />
hell was going on and who the<br />
hell Joe was. She agreed and we<br />
walked across the parking lot to<br />
the Starbucks and sat at a table<br />
away from everyone else.<br />
Ok, let’s start from the beginning.<br />
What’s your full name and<br />
where do you work?<br />
“My name is Susan Miller and<br />
I’m the assistant manager here<br />
at the apartments. I just moved<br />
here about six months ago from<br />
a small town in Kentucky. I’m<br />
going to school to be a nurse<br />
and I work here part-time to pay<br />
for school.”<br />
Ok, go on. Tell me about Officer<br />
Joe and how you met him.<br />
“I was working alone in the<br />
office one afternoon and Officer<br />
Joe came in and started talking<br />
to me. I thought he was just<br />
there to see how things were<br />
going at the apartments, but<br />
he only wanted to talk about<br />
me. He started asked personal<br />
questions about me and whether<br />
I had a boyfriend, stuff like<br />
that. I told him no I didn’t have a<br />
boyfriend and didn’t have time<br />
for anyone but me because of<br />
my school and my job. Then he<br />
came over and started running<br />
his hands through my hair and<br />
saying how he’s wanted to have<br />
sex with me since the day he<br />
moved in. I jumped out of my<br />
chair and ran across the room to<br />
get away from him. I told him he<br />
needed to leave, and he grabbed<br />
me around the neck and started<br />
choking me. He said I was going<br />
to have sex with him and if I refused,<br />
he was going to make me<br />
regret it. I managed to get away<br />
from him about the same time a<br />
new resident walked in the door.<br />
He turned around as if nothing<br />
happened and walked over to<br />
the resident and said “Hi, I’m Joe<br />
I work security here, welcome to<br />
our new property” and then he<br />
said, “I’ll see you later Ms. Miller,”<br />
and walked out.<br />
When was this? What date and<br />
time?<br />
“That was two weeks ago. He<br />
called me later that night and<br />
said if I told anyone about what<br />
happened in the office, he would<br />
kill me.”<br />
Wait, he said he would kill<br />
you?<br />
“Yes. He’s said that multiple<br />
times and I’m scared he will. He’s<br />
fucking crazy. Are you sure you<br />
aren’t his friend?”<br />
Susan, I don’t even know this<br />
guy….<br />
“Yes you do, he works with<br />
you.”<br />
What are you talking about?<br />
What do you mean he works<br />
with me? He’s a cop, not a security<br />
guard?<br />
“<strong>No</strong>, he’s a cop and wears a<br />
uniform just like yours. He works<br />
the evening shift. Joe *****”<br />
It hit me like a ton of bricks. I<br />
knew immediately who she was<br />
talking about. And I knew I had<br />
stepped into a clusterfuck and<br />
that I had to cover my ass.<br />
Ms. Miller, I’m going to call my<br />
supervisor. Just stay here. OK?<br />
“OK.”<br />
I got up and walked away to<br />
call my Sergeant. He was off that<br />
day, but he always said if shit got<br />
sideways to call him. I explained<br />
the entire situation to him and<br />
when I finished, he only asked<br />
one thing…. “Do you believe her?<br />
Is she making this up to hurt this<br />
guy or is she for real?”<br />
Sarge, I have never seen anyone<br />
more terrified in my life.<br />
She was shaking uncontrollably<br />
when I got here. <strong>No</strong> way she’s<br />
making this up.<br />
“Take her statement, write<br />
your report and then I want you<br />
to drive downtown to Internal<br />
Affairs. I’m going to call them<br />
and explain the situation. You<br />
sit down with them and explain<br />
every fucking thing this<br />
woman told you. I’ll have their<br />
Lieutenant. call me when you<br />
get done and we’ll see how they<br />
want to proceed.”<br />
Ok sarge, I’m on it. For the next<br />
two hours, I had Susan recount<br />
everything that had transpired<br />
between her and Officer Joe. I<br />
also had her write a statement<br />
to attach to the report. I explained<br />
what my sergeant wanted<br />
me to do, and I walked her<br />
back to her apartment.<br />
Ms. Miller. Susan. I want you to<br />
lock yourself in this apartment<br />
until I call you back. Don’t go<br />
anywhere. Put the chain on the<br />
door and don’t answer your door<br />
for anyone. Do you understand?<br />
“Yes sir. Thank you so much!”<br />
She threw her arms around me<br />
40 The 40 BLUES The BLUES POLICE POLICE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 41
and hugged me. Tears streamed<br />
down her face and I could tell<br />
that she seemed relieved that<br />
someone was there to help her<br />
and that she was safe. I drove<br />
downtown and met with internal<br />
affairs. I spent three hours going<br />
over everything Ms. Miller has<br />
said with the two detectives and<br />
their Lieutenant. They called my<br />
sergeant and filled him in. Everyone<br />
decided that we’d all meet<br />
at the apartments the following<br />
day to question Ms. Miller and<br />
take Joe in for questioning. I<br />
called Susan back and gave her<br />
the news. Stay home and I’ll see<br />
you in the morning.<br />
The next day, I arrived at the<br />
apartment office around 9am.<br />
I walked in and was greeted by<br />
the apartment manager. I asked<br />
to see Ms. Miller and the manager<br />
said, “Sorry she hasn’t made<br />
it in yet. Actually, she was supposed<br />
to me here at 8am. Do you<br />
want me to call her?”<br />
<strong>No</strong>, I’ll just walk over to her<br />
apartment. Her apartment was<br />
just around the corner and it<br />
didn’t take but a minute to get<br />
there. I knocked repeatedly and<br />
got no answer. I called her and<br />
got her voicemail. I had a horrible<br />
feeling that something wasn’t<br />
right. I went back to the office<br />
and asked the manager for master<br />
key. She had no idea what<br />
was going on and why would<br />
I be asking for a master key.<br />
About that time, two detectives<br />
from Internal Affairs walked in<br />
the door.<br />
“Should I have our resident officer<br />
come up here to assist you<br />
guys?” she asked.<br />
We all replied at once….NO!!!!!!<br />
We’re ok, we’ll just go check on<br />
her ourselves and please don’t<br />
call anyone. We walked upstairs<br />
to the apartment and I unlocked<br />
the door. Susan, its Officer Barret.<br />
Are you here? Ms. Miller?<br />
“Barrett, the bedroom and<br />
bathroom are clear. She’s not<br />
here”<br />
I told her to stay here and not<br />
leave, I told her to lock…..<br />
I turned around and looked at<br />
the door and the security chain<br />
wasn’t there. The bracket on the<br />
wall was torn off and pieces<br />
of wood were scattered on the<br />
floor.<br />
Guys, she’s gone! Someone took<br />
her!<br />
Have a unique story you’d<br />
like to share with the<br />
BLUES readers?<br />
Send it to: bluespdmag@<br />
gmail.com. Please change<br />
all the names to protect the<br />
innocent and to avoid prosecution<br />
in the event that<br />
the statute of limitations<br />
hasn’t expired.<br />
42 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 43
While I was confident that I<br />
knew exactly what happened to<br />
Susan Miller, the IA detectives on<br />
the scene weren’t so convinced.<br />
They said without a witness to<br />
alleged wrongdoings by this officer,<br />
they had nothing to go on.<br />
Ok if that’s the case, fuck you and<br />
get off my crime scene.<br />
“Excuse me Officer Barrett.”<br />
You heard me, get the fuck off<br />
my crime scene. I’m calling my<br />
supervisor and you’re not needed<br />
here.<br />
Well, that call didn’t go well<br />
but my sergeant did show up…<br />
along with the dayshift Lieutenant.<br />
I convinced them the<br />
complainant was missing and<br />
possibly abducted and we needed<br />
a crime scene unit to process<br />
the apartment. After a lot of<br />
back and forth they agreed, and<br />
I secured the scene until they<br />
arrived. Luckily one of the Crime<br />
Scene officers was a friend of<br />
mine and they swept that apartment<br />
with a fine-tooth comb.<br />
Later that day I was called<br />
into the Captain’s office and<br />
was told that detectives from<br />
Missing Persons was taking over<br />
the case and I was to give them<br />
everything I had and not to get<br />
involved from that day forward.<br />
Well, anyone who knows me,<br />
knows that wasn’t going to<br />
happen. I promised this woman<br />
I would keep her safe and now<br />
she was missing. <strong>No</strong> fucking way<br />
I wasn’t staying on the case. But I<br />
learned early on that bringing up<br />
Officer Joe Asshole wasn’t the<br />
way to go. <strong>No</strong> one wanted to acknowledge<br />
that someone in our<br />
department would be involved in<br />
something as heinous as this. But<br />
the fact remained this woman<br />
was missing, and it was our job<br />
to find out how and why.<br />
For the next few days, I called<br />
everyone she knew in the area.<br />
I went to the nursing school<br />
where she was enrolled, and<br />
they said she just stopped showing<br />
up. <strong>No</strong> way someone works<br />
their ass off to pay for nursing<br />
school and then stops coming.<br />
<strong>No</strong> way! What I did know<br />
was, her keys, purse, wallet and<br />
phone were still in the apartment.<br />
Her car was still parked<br />
in the parking lot. And now two<br />
weeks had gone by and no one,<br />
including her parents had heard<br />
from her.<br />
I heard that IA had brought Joe<br />
in for questioning, but no one<br />
would tell me what he said or<br />
what IA learned from it. And why<br />
WORDS BY OFFICER BARRETT<br />
should they because I wasn’t ON<br />
the case. But I flat out asked my<br />
sergeant if he was a suspect or<br />
not. His reply, “As of now, NO HE<br />
IS NOT!”<br />
I was so pissed, angry and hurt.<br />
I felt like it was my job to protect<br />
her, and I failed. And there<br />
was nothing I could do about it.<br />
It was now going on three weeks<br />
since Susan’s disappearance/<br />
abduction and I knew chances<br />
of finding her alive were slim<br />
to none. It was about this time<br />
I stated having the same dream<br />
over and over again. I guess<br />
some would say nightmare. I<br />
was on patrol. Dispatched to a<br />
body found in a field and it was<br />
Susan. The image of her lying<br />
there in a muddy field, with her<br />
blond hair all matted with dirt<br />
and mud. I started to kneel, and<br />
someone grabbed me, and I<br />
woke up.<br />
The same dream, over and<br />
over again. The same field, the<br />
same mud, the same everything.<br />
I became obsessed with finding<br />
that field. I drove everywhere<br />
in my district. On my days off,<br />
I drove everywhere looking for<br />
something that looked familiar<br />
from the dream. What the<br />
fuck was I doing? It was just a<br />
fucking dream. But I couldn’t<br />
stop thinking about her or<br />
that field. After 3 months of<br />
this I finally went and saw the<br />
department shrink. She said<br />
I was experiencing PTSD and<br />
that I had to come to terms<br />
with fact this was just another<br />
case and NOTHING was my<br />
fault. I agreed to join a PTSD<br />
therapy group that was located<br />
in another city. The last<br />
thing I wanted was to run into<br />
someone I knew. And I admit, it<br />
helped.<br />
The dreams/nightmare eventually<br />
stopped. But to be honest,<br />
I’ve never stopped looking<br />
for Susan. Maybe she decided<br />
to run away, change her name<br />
and never look back. Maybe<br />
she didn’t think she could trust<br />
me and that she’d be killed if<br />
she stuck around. So, she just<br />
disappeared, and she is living<br />
somewhere else safe and<br />
sound.<br />
Or asshole Joe, used his<br />
master key to unlock her<br />
apartment, broke the safety<br />
chain and took her. Did he kill<br />
her and dump her body? Did<br />
he bury her somewhere? What<br />
did he tell IA and what if any<br />
evidence did the Crime Scene<br />
guys find in the apartment<br />
linking Joe to Susan? Did they<br />
even collect a DNA sample<br />
from Joe for future comparison?<br />
I knew I would probably<br />
be fired, but I tried to access<br />
the report on more than one<br />
occasion and each time the<br />
case said: “File blocked, you<br />
do not have access.” I DON’T<br />
HAVE ACCESS OR NO ONE HAS<br />
ACCESS?<br />
It’s been over 30 years since<br />
Susan went missing. Her body<br />
was never found, and her parents<br />
never heard from her again.<br />
Officially she is just a missing<br />
person. If she was murdered,<br />
her killer got away with it. If Joe<br />
killed her, a bad cop got away<br />
with murder. Either way, I think<br />
about her every single day. Even<br />
in my retirement, I sometimes<br />
see an empty field, pull over, get<br />
out of my car and just stare. I<br />
know she’s out there somewhere<br />
– dead or alive.<br />
Have a unique story you’d<br />
like to share with the<br />
BLUES readers?<br />
Send it to: bluespdmag@<br />
gmail.com. Please change<br />
all the names to protect the<br />
innocent and to avoid prosecution<br />
in the event that<br />
the statute of limitations<br />
hasn’t expired.<br />
44 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 45
Galveston Island<br />
Beach Patrol<br />
46 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 47
In the Beginning<br />
In the 1800’s, Galveston Island was one of the largest cities in Texas. and hosted a plethora<br />
of firsts: post office (1836), naval base (1836), a cotton compress (1842), a Catholic<br />
parochial school (Ursuline Academy, 1847), an insurance company (1854), and even gas<br />
lights (1856). It’s bustling commerce and waves of immigration made this port city a powerhouse,<br />
providing the rest of Texas with variety of commodities. Like many large ports<br />
at the time, Galveston was in need of equipment to aid mariners who encountered problems.<br />
A national organization based on the east coast, called the United States Life-Saving<br />
Service, was created in response to humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked<br />
mariners. This government agency gave Galveston a “Francis Lifeboat” to the Galveston<br />
Port to employ in cases of vessels in distress.<br />
48 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 49
1850’s<br />
The Early Days of Rescues<br />
On June 2nd, 1857, the Steamship Louisiana, full of furniture<br />
and lumber, caught fire 5 miles off the coast of Galveston.<br />
Due to poor housing and an inconvenient storage location<br />
of the Francis Lifeboat, it could not be used for rescue. Hundreds<br />
of Galvestonians stood on the shoreline in despair as<br />
they watched the ship burn and sink with 35 helpless crewmen<br />
on board. This event prompted citizens to petition the city<br />
for appropriate funds to not only build a proper boat house,<br />
but to mount the Francis Lifeboat on a wheeled carriage for<br />
easier transportation. The federal government also supplied<br />
funds for two additional lifeboats, life-saving equipment, and<br />
a permanent boathouse. Fifty-two volunteers submitted their<br />
names to the Mayor of Galveston for support in creating the<br />
Galveston Lifeboat Association. This was the beginning of<br />
Galveston’s lifesaving service.<br />
50 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 51
1860’s<br />
Aftermath of Civil War<br />
Just when Galveston Island became fully equipped with the<br />
appropriate equipment for lifesaving, The United States declared<br />
war within itself. The Civil War began on April 16th, 1861,<br />
dividing the United States into two separate territories: The<br />
Union (the original United States Federal Government) and<br />
The Confederate States. The boathouse and lifeboats were federally<br />
funded and therefore property of the United States. It is<br />
thought that the equipment was most likely destroyed when<br />
the Union captured Galveston in 1862. When the war ended,<br />
none of the equipment was salvageable, The Lifeboat Association<br />
no longer existed, and lifesaving efforts on the Island came<br />
to a halt.<br />
52 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 53
1870’s<br />
Building the Foundation<br />
Kuhn’s Wharf<br />
It would not be until another tragedy occurred that Galveston would possess proper<br />
lifesaving tools and equipment. In <strong>No</strong>vember 1875, the Steamship City of Waco<br />
hailing from New York City arrived in Galveston to unload its cargo. Suddenly, the<br />
ship burst into flames without warning. Strong winds and rough waters prevented<br />
any aid from nearby vessels in the harbor, leaving Galvestonians and sailors alike<br />
to watch in horrified awe as the City of Waco sunk almost immediately. A memorial<br />
service was held in the Grand Opera House, packed with citizens to the point<br />
where there was not an empty seat or space to be found. A reverend gave a moving<br />
eulogy paying tribute to the 35 sailors who lost their lives in the tragedy and<br />
criticized the city for lack of appropriate means to come to their aid. He requested<br />
the city build a life-saving station on the island in honor of those fallen men, since<br />
nothing had been rebuilt since the war. Sumner Kimball, the newly appointed chief<br />
of the Treasury Department’s Revenue Marine Division, answered Galveston’s cries<br />
for help. Kimball, a young lawyer from Maine, instituted an inspection of the United<br />
States’ lifesaving network. He received $200,000 from Congress to professionalize<br />
the Galveston organization, providing new equipment and structures for housing<br />
the lifesaving materials. He also selected the new life station’s location to be Kuhn’s<br />
Wharf off of 18th street. Soon, Galveston would be re-organized and added into<br />
what was known as the United States Lifesaving Districts.<br />
54 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 55
1890’s<br />
United States Lifesaving<br />
Districts<br />
The United States was divided into several different Life Saving districts<br />
and Galveston was assigned as the headquarters of the ninth district.<br />
Through the late 1800s, the life-saving stations on Galveston Island continued<br />
to rescue shipwrecked mariners under the supervision of Captain<br />
William A. Hutchings, a former constable with the Galveston Police<br />
Department. He was also the Superintendent of the Ninth Life Saving<br />
District. Hutchings regularly inspected the eight stations in the district<br />
keeping them fully manned, well equipped and in good repair. But as<br />
the turn of the century approached, the problem of shipwrecks began to<br />
fade with new steamboat technology, making ships stronger and more<br />
resilient. Recreational swimming began to emerge as a popular pastime,<br />
and the need to rescue distressed swimmers became apparent. In the<br />
early twentieth century, the life-saving stations eventually transitioned<br />
into part of the U.S. Coast Guard. A demand for a new type of lifesaving<br />
had emerged: guarding the lives of swimmers at the beach.<br />
56 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 57
1900’s<br />
From Shipwrecks to<br />
Sunbathers<br />
After the 1900 storm, Mr. George Murdoch, the proprietor of the<br />
Murdoch Bathing Pavilion, announced that he was building a new<br />
pavilion on the site of the old bathhouse to accommodate the increase<br />
in tourism. The new Murdoch Bathing Pavilion was equipped<br />
with the latest in bathing comforts: one hundred and fifty changing<br />
rooms, shower baths, separate toilet rooms, the finest bathing suits for<br />
rent, and special lockers for private suits. As a responsible proprietor,<br />
George Murdoch provided life ropes by which bathers could hold onto<br />
since most people did not know how to swim back then. He also kept<br />
a beach patrol and life-saving crew on duty during the entire bathing<br />
season for his pavilion since Galveston did not have a formal organization<br />
in place. During the summer of 1910, bathhouse records showed<br />
that more than 150,000 people came to Galveston’s beaches and the<br />
majority of them could not swim. The need for a city-wide lifeguard<br />
organization grew rapidly.<br />
58 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 59
1910’s<br />
The Beginning of<br />
Beach Lifeguards<br />
In 1913, the YMCA organized a crew of volunteer lifeguards for<br />
Galveston Island. This organization, though unpaid, patrolled<br />
Galveston beaches from March to October each year, saving<br />
thousands of swimmers from drowning.<br />
In 1919, this agency became a member of the Red Cross<br />
Life-Saving Corps. Plans called for the erection of a two-story<br />
clubhouse structure, combining a storeroom and headquarters<br />
in one facility, built on pilings outside and above the sea<br />
wall midway between Murdoch’s bathhouse (24th) and Crystal<br />
Palace (23rd) steps. It would contain all the necessary equipment,<br />
such as stretchers and life buoys, as well as signs to<br />
mark sink holes on the beach. Though the lifeguards were still<br />
unpaid volunteers, they were given police authority to help<br />
maintain and control the beaches they guarded.<br />
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The Legend of<br />
LeRoy Colombo<br />
LeRoy made his first rescue at the beach when he was only 12, saving a man twice his size. At 15, he was<br />
fast enough to join the Surf Toboggan Club (STC), an elite Galveston lifesaving club whose rigorous tryout<br />
involved a 3-hour swim in open water without stopping. STC held the highest standards of sportsmanship<br />
and public service and provided free swimming lessons and first aid to beachgoers. He was the<br />
youngest and fastest member of the group, winning over 35 races during his time on the beach. LeRoy’s<br />
speed gave him a status. He beat Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller in a 10-mile-long race in the<br />
Mississippi River. Johnny didn’t finish the race, while LeRoy finished the race with a dislocated arm. Le-<br />
Roy saved two men from a tugboat that caught fire by swimming under the burning oil to retrieve them.<br />
The city even tried to raise enough money to send him to the Olympics but couldn’t collect the funds.<br />
LeRoy was known to have an “uncanny ability to detect swimmers in distress.” Though he was deaf and<br />
mute, he could read lips and speak clear enough to communicate to beach patrons. He was known to be<br />
friendly and humorous. Though the Galveston Beach Patrol didn’t initially hire LeRoy due to his deafness,<br />
he continued voluntarily guarding the beaches. Eventually the city of Galveston hired him due to his elite<br />
skill. Even today, he still holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most lives saved by one individual<br />
at a total of 907 lives. After he retired at the age of 62, he continued to swim daily. On July 12,<br />
1974, LeRoy passed away from a heart condition. In his honor, Galveston renamed 57th street “Colombo’s<br />
View” and erected a plaque on 57th and Seawall Blvd in 2008. The Austin School for the Deaf renamed<br />
their swimming center in his name and the Rosenberg Library still holds his championship cup. Though<br />
LeRoy is gone, Galveston will never forget his contributions to the foundation of our lifesaving tradition.<br />
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1930’s - 1960’s<br />
Advancements in Lifesaving,<br />
The Beginning of USLA<br />
With the number of beachgoers growing, the city realized its demand was beyond<br />
the volunteer level. By 1935, Galveston hired a handful of lifeguards, stationing them<br />
at 3 main points of the island in addition to the then named “Negro Beach”. They<br />
each worked 8-hour shifts, March through October. By the 1940’s, the island added a<br />
“life-saving beach patrol system,” and their first emergency response vehicle. With<br />
this vehicle, they were able to patrol more miles of beach at a faster pace. They also<br />
provided lifesaving medical aid in the field as opposed to taking victims to the hospital<br />
with little to no prior care. By August 1941, the Galveston Beach Patrol boasted 20<br />
guards. By the 1950’s, the lifeguards were given Police authority and were responsible<br />
for keeping the beaches clean, along with providing aid to the increasing number<br />
of beachgoers. Though the number of lifeguards fluctuated throughout the years, the<br />
lifeguard group continued to flourish. In 1965, an organization called the NSLSA, or the<br />
National Surf Life-Saving Association, connected many Beach Patrol organizations<br />
across the state of California. As the organization matured, it began to accept agencies<br />
across the nation and would later become what we know today as the United<br />
States Lifesaving Association (USLA). This agency became the brotherhood of nationally<br />
recognized Surf Rescue agencies across the United States.<br />
64 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 65
1970’s - 1980’s<br />
The Need for Change &<br />
The Modern Day Beach Patrol<br />
By the late 1970’s, the Galveston Beach Patrol had been switched multiple times<br />
between the various municipal groups with no real commitment for funding or<br />
ownership. Though they consistently had between 20-30 lifeguards, they struggled<br />
with organization and stability, much like other beach lifesaving agencies did<br />
across the country. This is when Senator Babe Schwartz, Dr. Jim McCloy of Texas<br />
A&M University, Sheriff Joe Max Taylor, and others each contributed in valuable<br />
ways to bring a significant change. The Sheriff’s Department took over management<br />
of the Beach Patrol and hotel tax and beach user fee monies were funneled<br />
through the Park Board of Trustees to modernize and expand the Beach Patrol.<br />
Members of the United States Lifesaving Association assisted in the professionalization<br />
of the Galveston Beach Patrol. Schwartz, McCloy, and the USLA held a meeting<br />
at Texas A&M in 1980 with the goal to further aid in legitimizing the new organization<br />
and creating proper training guidelines to certify member agencies and set<br />
minimum standards for open water lifeguards. Many leaders of first responding<br />
agencies and outreach organizations like the Red Cross and YMCA came to the conference<br />
to help create a plan for USLA. Key people of the Galveston Beach Patrol including<br />
future Director Vic Maceo also attended. At the conclusion of the meeting,<br />
the United States Lifesaving Association was formalized, and the Galveston Beach<br />
Patrol would soon join the organization.<br />
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1983<br />
Vic Maceo & The Galveston<br />
County Sheriff’s Dept.<br />
In 1983, Vic Maceo became the Director of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol, which was a division the<br />
Galveston Sheriff’s Department under the direction of Sheriff Joe Max Taylor. To help fund this new<br />
organization, The Moody Foundation of Galveston gave a generous donation to the Galveston Beach<br />
Patrol to help purchase equipment. Using the USLA guidelines as a foundation, Maceo set about creating<br />
a program specifically tailored for Galveston Island. He took into account Galveston’s unique<br />
environment, including the unique beach population, weather changes, jetties, rock groins, and rip<br />
currents. His training program grew until it eventually included nearly 100 hours of rigorous training.<br />
Maceo re-established tryouts emphasizing a requirement to meet minimum standards, raised the<br />
standards for athleticism, and instituted a supervisory hierarchy and a “shadow guarding” program<br />
for young lifeguards. Maceo also instituted a Surf Condition Flag Warning system and under his direction,<br />
the Beach Patrol was one of the first in the country to use a staggered shift system. In 1983,<br />
Maceo sent the first Galveston team to attend the USLA National Lifeguarding Championships in Daytona<br />
Beach, Florida. The team came back beaten but gained experience and the knowledge needed to<br />
adjust their training. Two years later, Galveston hosted the USLA National Competition, attracting some<br />
of the top lifeguards from around the United States to Galveston Island. Since then, the Galveston Island<br />
Beach Patrol has sent a competition team to every USLA national competition and has scored<br />
very well consistently for over 3 decades. Lifeguards also compete in local races throughout the summer<br />
to earn one of the elite spots on the team that travels to a beach somewhere in the country to go<br />
head-to-head with the best the profession has to offer.<br />
68 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 69
2007<br />
The Age of Red & Yellow &<br />
Pass-off of Power<br />
Vic Maceo was the Chief of the<br />
Galveston Island Beach Patrol from<br />
1983-2007, which included an impressive<br />
12-year run of no beach-related<br />
deaths by drowning in a guarded area.<br />
In 2007, Vic Maceo retired, passing the<br />
torch to Chief Peter Davis. At the same<br />
time, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol<br />
fell solely under the management of<br />
the Galveston Park Board of Trustees,<br />
changing their white shirts and green<br />
shorts to the accepted international<br />
colors for lifesavers around the globe -<br />
red and yellow.<br />
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Police Chief,<br />
Peter Davis<br />
Peter Davis has been an open water lifeguard for <strong>37</strong> years and<br />
currently serves as Chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol and<br />
of the Park Board Police Department, where he is responsible for<br />
over 140 beach lifeguards and police officers as well as a junior<br />
lifeguard program of about 120 children. He currently volunteers<br />
as the Secretary General of the Americas Region of the International<br />
Lifesaving Federation, and is the past President and current<br />
Liaison Officer of the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA).<br />
He holds a B.A. in Psychology from Trinity University and a Master<br />
of Fine Art from the University of California-Davis. In 2017 he was<br />
awarded the title of Knight in the Order of Lifesaving from the<br />
International Lifesaving Federation, and in 2019 he was inducted<br />
into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Water Safety category.<br />
Peter is a USLA instructor for open water lifeguarding and<br />
personal watercraft rescue, as well as a Red Cross Instructor for<br />
Lifeguarding and Medical Response. He holds certification as an<br />
Emergency Medical Technician, Peace Officer, and Public Safety<br />
Diver. He is on the USLA/NOAA (National Weather Service and Sea<br />
Grant) National Rip Current Education Task Group. He also represents<br />
USLA on Water Safety USA, a roundtable of equal leaders<br />
in water safety for the United States. He co-produced and cowrote<br />
the educational video “Texas Beaches- Know the Dangers,”<br />
winner of both the National Telly and Communicators Awards. He<br />
also co-edited the Spanish edition of the USLA Manual- 2nd edition<br />
and has spearheaded a great deal of lifesaving development<br />
work around the world, particularly in central and south America.<br />
In addition to his career in Lifesaving, Peter, a 7th generation<br />
Galvestonian, has taught Art in Botswana, Brooklyn, and Galveston.<br />
He spends his free time surfing, training, and spending time<br />
with his 15-year-old daughter, Kai, on the beach. He loves Galveston<br />
and was the Art Director of the Galveston See-Wall mural<br />
project.<br />
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<strong>2021</strong><br />
An Elite Agency<br />
Each year between five and eight million people visit Galveston Island and the<br />
Beach Patrol patrols the island’s 32 miles year-round with 15 full time employees.<br />
Over the past two years, Davis and his staff have worked over <strong>37</strong>8,369 preventative<br />
actions, responded to 3,335 calls for medical, rescued 209 swimmers,<br />
reunited 148 lost persons, worked 21 drownings, had 7,783 enforcement actions,<br />
10,324 tourist contacts and made 88,215 water safety contacts.<br />
Today, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol is recognized as one of the most professional<br />
and proactive lifeguard agencies in the United States and their mission remains<br />
the same as it was 40 years ago. Protect the 5-8 million people who visit<br />
Galveston beaches each year, respond to aquatic emergencies 24/7/365, educate<br />
the public about water and beach safety, and be a good community partner. But<br />
their highest priority is to make sure every visitor to the beach gets home safely.<br />
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Galveston Island<br />
Beach Patrol, Best of the Best<br />
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Beach Safety Tips<br />
Avoid Swimming at the Ends of the Island: The San Luis Pass and the<br />
Ship Channel have strong tidal currents and changing bottom contours.<br />
Fish from shore in these areas!<br />
Don’t Swim Alone: Your buddy can call or wave for help if you can’t.<br />
Swim Near a Lifeguard<br />
Galveston boasts an “Advanced Level” Lifeguard<br />
service certified by the United States<br />
Lifesaving Association. We’re out there from<br />
early morning till dark throughout the summer<br />
at the large beach parks and along the<br />
seawall, so shouldn’t be hard to find the right<br />
place. The guard is an added layer of protection,<br />
although you are still responsible for you<br />
and your family’s safety. They are there not<br />
only to protect you but to serve as ambassadors<br />
for all the island has to offer.<br />
Don’t Dive in Headfirst: To avoid the chance of a head or neck injury.<br />
Observe Warning Signs and Flags: All 600 of ours are all bilingual and use<br />
icons.<br />
Lifejackets: <strong>No</strong>n-swimmers and children should use properly fitted lifejackets<br />
when in or around the water.<br />
Alcohol and Water Don’t Mix: Many of the beaches here are alcohol<br />
free.<br />
Take Precautions from the Heat and Sun: Wear loose-fitting clothing<br />
and a hat, sunscreen with a high SPF, good sunglasses, and drinking plenty<br />
of non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated beverages. Remember the beach isn’t a<br />
pool or pond. There are currents, marine life, and the bottom is uneven with<br />
troughs and drop-offs. You should be much more careful and be sure to not<br />
exceed your ability.<br />
Avoid Rip Currents<br />
Specifically, stay away from the rocks and<br />
structures- where there is a chance you could<br />
be caught in a dangerous rip current that will<br />
pull you out. If caught in a rip current, relax<br />
and float until the currents and waves return<br />
you to shore. If you’re a good swimmer, swim<br />
parallel to shore towards breaking waves<br />
where the water is shallow and then go to<br />
shore. Never enter a rip to help someone.<br />
Instead, throw a floating object like the ring<br />
buoys and ropes in the rescue boxes on the<br />
groins.<br />
And most importantly, maintain<br />
good situational awareness,<br />
don’t check your brain<br />
at the causeway.<br />
CHIEF PETER DAVIS,<br />
GALVESTON ISLAND<br />
BEACH PATROL<br />
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Beach Safety: Warning Flags<br />
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Texas School District Chiefs Association<br />
Member/Conference in Galveston, June 20-24<br />
Moody Gardens Convention Center<br />
The Texas School District Police Chiefs Association began in 1996 when<br />
a group of school district police chiefs from Houston and the surrounding<br />
area held a luncheon for the purpose of discussing mutual<br />
concerns and sharing ideas.<br />
The chiefs continued to have quarterly meetings, on an informal basis,<br />
until the decision was made in 1997 to form the Southeast Texas<br />
School District Police Chiefs Association. The intent of the group was<br />
to promote the professionalizing of school district policing and to collectively<br />
resolve problems faced by these law enforcement agencies.<br />
During this time, school district police departments were a relatively<br />
new concept, and many were experiencing problems associated with<br />
non-traditional police organizations.<br />
In furtherance of the goal of professionalizing school district policing,<br />
the Association sponsored its first annual training conference in 1998.<br />
The event was held at the Aldine School District in Harris County and<br />
attracted over 100 participants from many parts of the state. The conference<br />
was such a success that it has continued to be held each year.<br />
In 2001, the group voted to change the name to the Texas School District<br />
Police Chiefs Association in order to promote the standardization<br />
of school district policing on a statewide basis.<br />
82 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 83
<strong>2021</strong> TSPCA Conference Schedule<br />
Sunday, June 20th 4:30 - 6pm Executive Board Meeting. Regional Directors<br />
Monday, June 21st 10am-5pm Conference & Gold Sponsor Setup<br />
11am-5pm Vendor Set-up<br />
12pm-5pm Registration<br />
5pm-7pm Chief’s Round Table<br />
Tuesday, June 22nd 7am-8am Registration<br />
8am-9am Welcome, President Kimberely<br />
9am-10am Michael Dorn-Safe Havens Int.<br />
10am-10:30am Break w/vendors<br />
10:30am-12pm Michael Dorn (cont.)<br />
12pm-1:30pm Lunch w/vendors<br />
1:30pm-3pm Michael Dorn (cont.)<br />
3pm-3:30pm Break w/vendors<br />
3:30pm-5pm Michael Dorn (cont.)<br />
5:30pm-8pm Conference Sponsor Networking Social<br />
Wednesday, June 23rd 8am-10am Nick Daugherty-Financial Cop<br />
10am-10:30am Break w/vendors<br />
` 10:30am-12pm Nick Daugherty(cont.)<br />
12pm-1:30pm Lunch w/vendors<br />
1:30pm-3pm Dr. Joel Shults - Effective Police leadership<br />
3pm-3:30pm Break w/vendors<br />
3:30pm-5pm Dr. Joel Shults (cont.)<br />
5:30pm-8pm Conference Sponsor Networking Social<br />
KeyWarden is the Texas distributor of Morse Watchmans industry-leading key and asset management systems. We are actively involved<br />
in the Texas Law Enforcement community as a founding member of the East Texas 100 club, and corporate members of the <strong>No</strong>rth Texas<br />
Police Chiefs Association, the East Texas Police Chiefs Association, the High Plains Police Chiefs Association, and the Central Texas Police<br />
Chiefs Association. We are proud to participate in the TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE.<br />
THE KEYWATCHER TOUCH SYSTEM is deployed in the law enforcement environment to:<br />
• Securely dispense track and audit the use of keys to: vehicles, facilities, lockers and<br />
other high-value assets.<br />
• Prevent unauthorized staff from driving specialist vehicles, or racking up miles on the<br />
newer fleet while older units sit idle.<br />
• Allow management to compel the use of vehicle pools rather than staff controlling the<br />
keys to particular units.<br />
• Quicker and more efficient shift changes.<br />
• Control the keys to facilities and mandate accountability.<br />
• Managing and controlling access to assets stored in lockers.<br />
Thursday, June 24th 8am-9:30am Legislative Topics-Attorney Ellen Spaulding /<br />
KBS Group<br />
9:30am-10:30am Closing Remarks / Business / Gun Giveaway<br />
Chief David Kimberely, Klein ISD Police Dept.<br />
19015 Gentle Knoll<br />
San Antonio, Texas 78258<br />
84 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE As a Texas-based company, we provide on site evaluation, implementation, training and support of the<br />
Office: The BLUES 830-214-0867 POLICE MAGAZINE Fax: 775-898-1807 85<br />
KeyWatcher System. We are also a member of BuyBoard and offer discounted pricing and ease of purchase. www.keywarden.com - click here to email us
What to Do?<br />
Making the Most<br />
of Island Time<br />
Attractions<br />
Galveston Island is home to some of the<br />
best attractions Texas has to offer, including<br />
Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn Waterpark,<br />
the Historic Pleasure Pier, unique<br />
museums, dazzling Victorian architecture,<br />
and 32 miles of sun-kissed beaches.<br />
Historic Buildings & Homes<br />
Although most of the original structures are long gone, the<br />
stories of early islanders live on in renovated structures<br />
and new establishments created in memory of the past.<br />
Galveston Beaches<br />
With 32 miles of shoreline and a variety of<br />
parks, Galveston Island offers something for<br />
every kind of beachgoer. And with warm Gulf<br />
waves from spring through October, there’s<br />
plenty of time to explore each beach’s unique<br />
personality. Whatever your sunseeking fancy,<br />
Galveston has a beach for you.<br />
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Hubcap Grill<br />
<strong>2021</strong> Strand, Galveston, TX<br />
Phone: (409)220-3551<br />
Tours & Sightseeing<br />
Whether you prefer to stroll down quaint<br />
alleyways by foot or trot through the streets<br />
in a carriage, all paths can lead you on an<br />
unforgettable journey back in time. You’ll<br />
be entertained and enlightened by knowledgeable<br />
guides giving tours on foot,<br />
carriage, shuttle or even boat. If you prefer<br />
to do you own thing, we’ve assemble<br />
self-guided tours of popular sights with<br />
maps designed for mobile devices.<br />
Where to Stay?<br />
Casa Del Mar Beachfront Suites<br />
Be the hero of your family vacation! With<br />
a relaxed vibe, beautiful views of the Gulf<br />
of Mexico and steps from the beach,<br />
Casa del Mar is ideal for a family vacation<br />
or weekend getaway. Each suite offers a<br />
private balcony, a small living room with a<br />
queen sleeper sofa, a studio kitchen, private<br />
bedroom, and junior bunks for small<br />
kids.<br />
Explore the Ocean’s Depths<br />
MOODY GARDENS<br />
Dive into the oceans of the world in<br />
a 1.5-million-gallon aquarium teeming<br />
with creatures from tuxedo-clad<br />
penguins to seals, stingrays, sharks<br />
and more!<br />
Hubcap Grill has been voted the<br />
best burger in Houston by Houstonians,<br />
and publications from all<br />
over the country and several food<br />
talk shows agree that Hubcap<br />
Grill is “Houston’s Best Burger!”<br />
And now the famous eatery is on<br />
Galveston’s historic Strand! In<br />
fact, Travel + Leisure Magazine<br />
has rated Houston as the top<br />
burger city in the country, and<br />
said the Hubcap Grill may just<br />
have the Best Burger in America.<br />
Rudy & Paco Restaurant and Bar<br />
2028 Postoffice St., Galveston, TX<br />
Phone: (409)762-3696<br />
When visiting Galveston Island, you<br />
simply can’t miss one of the Island’s<br />
most unique dining experiences,<br />
Rudy & Paco. This award-winning<br />
eatery features grilled seafood<br />
and steak with a South and Central<br />
American sabor. Rudy & Paco<br />
is located next door to The Grand<br />
1894 Opera House, and is a great<br />
choice for pre-show dinner specials.<br />
Reservations are recommended.<br />
Sharky’s Tavern<br />
504 25th St., Galveston, TX<br />
Phone: (409) 443-5584 | Website<br />
Sharky’s Tavern, located a few blocks from<br />
The Strand, features delectable Napoli-style<br />
pizzas, a sports bar, and live music on the<br />
weekends.Baked in their custom wood-fired<br />
oven at 900 degrees for about 90 seconds, the<br />
resulting pies are thin, and bursting with flavor<br />
with ingredients such as house-made doughs,<br />
sauces, and mozzarella; as well as imported<br />
Mozzarella de Bufala. The Sharky’s menu also<br />
features local ingredients and products from<br />
local vendors, including beers from Galveston<br />
Island Brewery and Devil and the Deep Brewery.<br />
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THE OPEN ROAD<br />
by Michael Barron<br />
If you want a HEMI powered Dodge,<br />
The sound of a supercharged HEMI 6.2 may soon be a thing of the past.<br />
you have 2 years to buy one!<br />
The Dodge//SRT brand is<br />
known as the American performance<br />
brand thanks to its value<br />
based high-performance V8<br />
muscle cars and SUVs. Vehicles<br />
like the 797 horsepower Dodge<br />
Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye<br />
Widebody, 717 horsepower<br />
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat,<br />
and the 470 horsepower Dodge<br />
Durango SRT392, have become<br />
staples to draw people to the<br />
brand. But with the age of electrification<br />
upon us, the HEMI V8<br />
muscle car and SUV era might<br />
be coming to an end.<br />
In a recent interview with Muscle<br />
Cars & Trucks, Dodge Head of<br />
Sales Operations, Matt McAlear,<br />
explained: “There hasn’t been a<br />
date drawn in the sand saying<br />
you’ll no longer be able to buy<br />
an iron block HEMI anymore, but<br />
everybody knows it’s coming,<br />
and they want to enjoy [it] while<br />
they can.”<br />
“Everybody knows electrification<br />
is coming, we’ll reinvent the<br />
muscle car as far as Dodge is<br />
concerned. I’m extremely excited<br />
about where the future is going,<br />
but right now everybody is enjoying<br />
the bachelor party. This is<br />
the last hurrah, said McAlear.”<br />
While the current Dodge Challenger<br />
and Dodge Charger will<br />
continue in production until late<br />
2023, the next-generation cars<br />
will have the capability to feature<br />
internal combustion engines<br />
(ICE) with mild-hybrid electric<br />
(mHEV), plug-in electric (PHEV),<br />
and even battery electric (BEV)<br />
powertrains. Proving that internal<br />
combustion engines will still<br />
be around for some time.<br />
What you might see more of is<br />
a PHEV option for your favorite<br />
muscle cars over the next decade.<br />
The new <strong>2021</strong> Jeep Wrangler<br />
Unlimited 4xe is a great<br />
example of this system, as it<br />
allows the vehicle to integrate<br />
two electric motors and a 400-<br />
volt battery pack with a fuel-efficient,<br />
turbocharged, four-cylinder<br />
engine and Torque Flite<br />
8-speed automatic transmission.<br />
This configuration maximizes the<br />
efficiency of the hybrid propulsion<br />
components and mates<br />
them to a proven driveline.<br />
How it works is fairly simple.<br />
The Wrangler’s 2.0-liter turbocharged<br />
I-4 engine (which<br />
is part of the Global Medium<br />
Engine family, and known as the<br />
GME-T4) is a high-tech, direct-injection<br />
engine that uses<br />
a twin-scroll, low-inertia turbocharger<br />
mounted directly to<br />
the cylinder head, along with<br />
a dedicated cooling circuit for<br />
the turbocharger, intake air and<br />
throttle body for exceptional responsiveness,<br />
performance, and<br />
fuel efficiency.<br />
A high-voltage, liquid-cooled<br />
motor generator unit mounts at<br />
the front of the engine, replacing<br />
the conventional alternator. A<br />
robust belt connects the motor<br />
generator to the engine crankshaft<br />
pulley. The motor-generator<br />
spins the engine for nearly<br />
seamless, fuel-saving, startstop<br />
operation and generates<br />
electricity for the battery pack.<br />
Instead of using a conventional<br />
12-volt starter motor, the vehicle<br />
is equipped with a 12-volt battery<br />
to run accessories.<br />
The second high-voltage<br />
motor-generator is mounted<br />
at the front of the transmission<br />
case, replacing the conventional<br />
torque converter of an automatic<br />
transmission. Two clutches<br />
work to manage power and<br />
torque from the e-motor and<br />
engine. A binary clutch (on/off)<br />
is mounted between the engine<br />
and the motor. When this clutch<br />
is open there is no mechanical<br />
linkage between the engine and<br />
the e-motor, which enables it to<br />
propel the vehicle in electric-only<br />
mode.<br />
When the binary clutch is<br />
closed, torque from the engine<br />
and the e-motor flow combine<br />
through the automatic transmission.<br />
A variable clutch mounted<br />
behind the e-motor manages<br />
engagement with the transmission<br />
to improve drivability and<br />
efficiency.<br />
According to sources at<br />
Dodge, a new turbocharged<br />
inline-six-cylinder engine<br />
(GME-T6) will be an integral<br />
step forward with replacing the<br />
HEMI V8 engines in a majority of<br />
the Dodge//SRT lineup. The new<br />
engine will have multiple levels<br />
of output depending on the<br />
application and should improve<br />
weight, reliability, and fuel efficiency<br />
over the HEMI V8 engines.<br />
Our sources tell us, we will see<br />
the first application of this engine<br />
in the upcoming Wagoneer<br />
and Grand Wagoneer 4xe models<br />
later this fall.<br />
The new GME-T6 will use a<br />
similar application to the one<br />
in the Wrangler Unlimited 4xe<br />
and could show us a combined<br />
output somewhere near 525<br />
horsepower with both the engine<br />
and e-motor. The GME-T4 and<br />
PHEV system in the Wrangler<br />
makes a combined output of <strong>37</strong>5<br />
horsepower, so a 525-horsepower<br />
rating doesn’t seem that<br />
far-fetched.<br />
The Wagoneer and Grand<br />
Wagoneer application could<br />
show us a good hint at what<br />
may be in store for the future<br />
generation Charger and Challenger.<br />
Most importantly, it could<br />
show us an important look at the<br />
next-generation Dodge Durango<br />
which earlier sources indicated<br />
would become a body-on-frame<br />
SUV and be built alongside the<br />
Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.<br />
If the HEMI does return to the<br />
lineup for the next-generation<br />
of Charger and Challenger,<br />
we expect that will have the<br />
90 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 91
know this is coming,”<br />
Kuniskis said.<br />
“The whole world’s<br />
going get there and<br />
when it does, the<br />
price point of that<br />
technology is going<br />
to come down, and<br />
… the crazy people<br />
are going to take the<br />
electrification that<br />
has now become accessible<br />
from a price<br />
point and make that<br />
performance-based<br />
instead of economy-based.”<br />
The <strong>2021</strong> Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with the new 4XE Chassis<br />
The 5.7liter HEMI v8 with the eTorque system in a 2019 Ram 1500 Pickup<br />
next-generation of Stellantis’<br />
eTorque mild-hybrid system.<br />
Currently, the 5.7-liter HEMI V8<br />
with eTorque combines the variable<br />
valve timing and Fuel Saver<br />
Technology (cylinder deactivation)<br />
that the HEMI has had since<br />
2008, but the eTorque system replaces<br />
the traditional alternator<br />
on the engine with a belt-driven<br />
motor-generator unit that performs<br />
several functions. The<br />
motor-generator unit works with<br />
a 48-volt battery pack to enable<br />
quick and seamless start/stop<br />
function, short-duration torque<br />
addition to the engine crankshaft<br />
in certain driving situations,<br />
and brake energy regeneration,<br />
which improves responsiveness<br />
and efficiency.<br />
With the engine running,<br />
eTorque’s motor-generator<br />
unit feeds a 48-volt current to<br />
a 430-watt-hour lithium-ion<br />
Nickel Manganese Cobalt<br />
(NMC)-Graphite battery. The battery<br />
pack includes a 3-kilowatt<br />
DC-to-DC converter to maintain<br />
the battery’s state of charge and<br />
convert 48 volts to 12 volts to<br />
power the vehicle’s accessories<br />
and charge its conventional 12-<br />
volt lead-acid battery.<br />
A small suitcase-sized, aircooled<br />
battery pack mounts<br />
inside the vehicle’s cabin. The<br />
case is insulated to dampen<br />
noise from the dual cooling fans.<br />
Cooling air is drawn from inside<br />
the vehicle and vented via the<br />
built-in cabin exhausters. The<br />
current eTorque system retains<br />
a conventional 12-volt starter<br />
motor, used for cold starts and<br />
the first start of the day due to<br />
its greater efficiency in extreme<br />
temperatures.<br />
In addition to spinning the<br />
engine for restarts, the eTorque<br />
system also recaptures energy<br />
during deceleration and braking<br />
to feed charge to the battery<br />
pack. eTorque also enhances<br />
the driving experience of the<br />
vehicle by adding torque to the<br />
crankshaft during gear changes<br />
to minimize noise, vibration, and<br />
harshness (NVH).<br />
As for the lineup of supercharged<br />
6.2-liter HEMI Hellcat<br />
V8 vehicles that the Dodge//<br />
SRT brand crank out, we expect<br />
those vehicles to end along with<br />
the current generation of cars.<br />
“The days of an iron block supercharged<br />
6.2-liter V8 are numbered,”<br />
Dodge CEO, Tim Kuniskis<br />
said to CNBC during an interview<br />
back in January.<br />
“The whole world is going to<br />
shift to electrification, right? We<br />
<strong>2021</strong> Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, <strong>2021</strong> Durango SRT Hellcat, 2020 Challenger SRT Super Stock<br />
92 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 93
Gaius Petronius Arbiter<br />
I always like studying the Romans.<br />
They were some largerthan-life<br />
characters and still are<br />
influential in the western world<br />
view. They were literate and are<br />
derived from a tribe on the Italian<br />
peninsula called the Latins.<br />
Their language is the father of<br />
these Southern European languages:<br />
Italian, Spanish, French,<br />
and Portuguese. Latin is still the<br />
language of science and the<br />
Catholic Church.<br />
One of the figures that I studied<br />
served in the court of the emperor<br />
Nero. Gaius Petronius Arbiter<br />
(27- 66 AD) was a judge of sorts.<br />
He was the author of a satirical<br />
novel that spared<br />
no one and most<br />
Romans thought it<br />
was pretty clever.<br />
Petronius served<br />
the Empire in various<br />
fields, but the<br />
one he is known<br />
for is fashion. He<br />
was Nero’s expert<br />
in deciding what<br />
was appropriate<br />
in terms of style<br />
and deportment.<br />
He was quite literally<br />
the head of<br />
the fashion police.<br />
In order to serve<br />
properly, he slept<br />
all day and partied<br />
all night. It<br />
was a tough job,<br />
but somebody<br />
had to do it.<br />
Prior to being a judge of style<br />
and deportment, Petronius was<br />
a consul of the Empire. He governed<br />
and spoke his mind which<br />
created many friends and, of<br />
course, enemies. One of the<br />
things that got him crossways<br />
with his superiors had to do<br />
with reforming and reorganizing<br />
centurions and others who were<br />
charged with enforcing the Pax<br />
Romana. The Pax Romana refers<br />
to the law and order that Rome<br />
provided its citizens and others<br />
under Roman rule. The heart of<br />
the Empire was the road system<br />
that Roman engineers developed.<br />
I’ve walked on some of these<br />
roads myself and they are just as<br />
magnificent today as they were<br />
two thousand years ago<br />
when Petronius walked<br />
them. The roads allowed<br />
the Legions to cross the<br />
continent without getting<br />
bogged down in mud or<br />
drown in river crossings.<br />
Besides the military, commerce<br />
flowed from one<br />
end of the Mediterranean<br />
to the other with traders<br />
buying and selling goods.<br />
Christian missionaries like<br />
Paul and Silas walked the<br />
roads spreading the gospel<br />
in the region.<br />
The Romans patrolled<br />
their territory and captured<br />
outlaws who threatened<br />
the Pax Romana. As<br />
you might imagine, many<br />
people thought the Roman<br />
rule was heavy handed.<br />
The Roman enforcers of the law<br />
were constantly being reformed<br />
and reorganized to meet new<br />
standards. Petronius commented<br />
on this and his words echo<br />
across the millennia to the present.<br />
“We trained hard, but it<br />
seemed like every time we were<br />
beginning to form into teams we<br />
were reorganized. I was to learn<br />
later in life that we tend to meet<br />
any situation by reorganizing,<br />
and what a wonderful method it<br />
can be for creating the illusion of<br />
progress while actually producing<br />
confusion, inefficiency, and<br />
demoralization.”<br />
I think Petronius may have<br />
been onto something! The new<br />
centurions and enforcers of the<br />
American rule of law can identify<br />
with their Roman forebears from<br />
centuries in the past. Confusion,<br />
inefficiency, and demoralization<br />
are nothing new. They are rather<br />
the constant in the life of any<br />
law enforcement organization.<br />
People constantly “reform” what<br />
they want in law enforcement<br />
and inevitably go back and forth<br />
on a continuum that Petronius<br />
would be very familiar with. So,<br />
what finally happened to Petronius?<br />
Well, he finished his career<br />
as an arbiter (yes, our word for<br />
arbitration comes from the Latin)<br />
by finally making the wrong person<br />
angry. He was sentenced to<br />
death, but he cheated the executioner<br />
by opening up his veins<br />
and discussing affairs of the day<br />
as he bled out. He was a notable<br />
Roman and his life and death<br />
were recorded by Tacitus, Pliny<br />
the Elder, and Plutarch. Before he<br />
bled out, he broke his very fancy<br />
ladle for dipping wine so that<br />
Nero wouldn’t possess it. Petronius<br />
was always thinking!<br />
Congratulations to<br />
Alan Helfman<br />
on your<br />
Lifetime<br />
Achievement Award<br />
PROUD SUPPORTER OF THE BLUES<br />
FOR OVER 36 YEARS<br />
HELFMAN’S<br />
RIVER OAKS CHRYSLER<br />
JEEP • DODGE • RAM • CHRYSLER • FORD<br />
FIAT • ALFA ROMEO • MASERATI<br />
94 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 95
Biden Hosts Floyd Family at White House<br />
Number of Murdered Police Officers’ Families Invited? NONE<br />
Warning: If you are a full<br />
blooded, 100% Democrat, you’ll<br />
probably want to skip this<br />
month’s Light Bulb Award article<br />
for fear of anxiety that could<br />
lead to a heart attack or stroke.<br />
You’ve been warned.<br />
When Donald Trump became<br />
President, every Democrat in this<br />
nation went insane proclaiming<br />
“not my President, not my President”<br />
and literally did everything<br />
they could to run him out<br />
of office. The funny thing is, you<br />
didn’t see Republicans yelling<br />
“not my President” when Barack<br />
was ruining this<br />
country (yes, I<br />
meant ruining<br />
not running).<br />
I have always<br />
respected the<br />
office of the<br />
President because<br />
it’s the<br />
office not the<br />
man that represents<br />
this<br />
country. But Joe<br />
Biden obviously<br />
is not running<br />
this country and<br />
should not have been elected<br />
in the first place. I’m not talking<br />
about election fraud; I’m referring<br />
to his mental health. Anyone<br />
who has listened to him for<br />
more than five minutes knows<br />
this to be true.<br />
But SOMEONE is running the<br />
White House. Every past president<br />
will tell you that they<br />
worked 20 hours a day, every<br />
day, and the mental and physical<br />
stress is insane. It takes its toll<br />
even on a physically fit man or<br />
woman. So how is Biden, in his<br />
present condition, even going to<br />
last a year? Which in a way is<br />
sad for the guy that was sucked<br />
into the job by Harris, Pelosi as<br />
well as all the rest of the Democratic<br />
goons.<br />
But this is about a recipient for<br />
the June LB Award, not Michael<br />
Barron’s opinion of the government<br />
and White House. But it<br />
does lead us to our candidate, or<br />
shall we say candidates for the<br />
award for June are: The White<br />
House, The President, The Vice<br />
-President and the entire cabinet.<br />
These people, this government,<br />
have no respect for the Police &<br />
Law Enforcement and what they<br />
represent.<br />
They have chosen to take the<br />
side of evil instead of right and<br />
wrong. When Trump was President,<br />
he called every officer that<br />
had been shot in the line of duty<br />
on his watch. He wanted them to<br />
know he and the First Lady had<br />
their backs. That HE, The Fucking<br />
President of the United States<br />
of America, HAD THEIR BACK<br />
wished him or her a speedy<br />
recovery. Unfortunately, he made<br />
more phone calls to widows<br />
of fallen officers than wounded<br />
ones. Trump would always,<br />
always, reach out to the family<br />
members<br />
to give his<br />
condolences<br />
and let them<br />
know that he<br />
and the First<br />
Lady grieved<br />
with them and<br />
was praying<br />
for them and<br />
their families.<br />
<strong>No</strong> other<br />
President in<br />
the history of<br />
our nation has<br />
ever done this.<br />
<strong>No</strong>t a single one. Trump supported<br />
first responders and respected<br />
the Thin Blue Line.<br />
Biden, and the White House,<br />
hate the Thin Blue Line. They<br />
think it represents evil. They<br />
believe police officers are evil<br />
people that need to be removed<br />
from society. They hate what we<br />
represent and when one of us<br />
is killed or injured in the line of<br />
duty, they respond with “Well<br />
they probably deserved it, always<br />
trying to kill a person of color.”<br />
They honestly think we spend<br />
our entire lives just hoping we<br />
have the chance to shoot someone<br />
and with any luck it will be<br />
a “person of color.” I personally<br />
hate that term “person of color.”<br />
That’s just another “feel good”<br />
term this wimpy ass society<br />
has concocted to make them<br />
feel better about themselves.<br />
“White people need to be less<br />
white!” Fuck that! How about we<br />
all be proud of who we are and<br />
what color we are? I have lots<br />
of friends that are black, brown,<br />
white, red and every damn color<br />
in between. Each and every one<br />
of them is proud of the heritage<br />
they were born into and damn<br />
proud of who they are and what<br />
they have accomplished. One of<br />
those “people of color” is HPD<br />
Chief Troy Finner, one of the<br />
finest police chiefs ever appointed<br />
to HPD and one of the kindest<br />
human beings you’ll ever meet.<br />
It doesn’t matter that the man is<br />
black. What the hell difference<br />
does that make? It’s who he is<br />
and what he has accomplished<br />
that matters. What he is, is<br />
someone that that cares about<br />
his city, his family and every man<br />
and woman who wear a badge<br />
no matter who they work for. I<br />
have a thousand times more respect<br />
for him, than the so-called<br />
President of this country.<br />
When you choose to invite<br />
the family of George Floyd to<br />
the White House and refuse to<br />
lower flags to half-mast during<br />
Police Week, you don’t deserve<br />
my respect or that of my family<br />
in Blue. Invite me to the White<br />
House and I bring real damn<br />
heroes for you to honor. Heroes<br />
who have chosen to fight for<br />
and save people they don’t even<br />
know, even your “people of color.”<br />
We don’t see color, we see<br />
people. We see right and wrong.<br />
Good vs Evil. <strong>No</strong>t this feel-good<br />
crap.<br />
Giving Biden and his White House<br />
staff the Light Bulb Award seems<br />
lame compared to the total disrespect<br />
these people have towards<br />
Police and those that fight to defend<br />
this country. What they deserve is<br />
an Exit Award. We need to focus<br />
our anger on removing them from<br />
office and replacing them with people<br />
who respect what the Thin Blue<br />
Line stands for. Someone who’ll<br />
pick up the phone and call the wife<br />
or husband who just lost the love<br />
of their life. Someone who will<br />
invite the children of fallen officers<br />
to the White House to honor what<br />
their parents died for. <strong>No</strong>t celebrate<br />
the families of violent felons who<br />
broke the law and ended up dead<br />
because they resisted arrest and<br />
failed to comply with police.<br />
Woke society my ass. Wake the<br />
fuck up America and award these<br />
people with an Exit Award of your<br />
own.<br />
96 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 97
Providing a Lifeline:<br />
Humanizing the Badge<br />
Throughout my career I have<br />
connected with some of the<br />
most inspirational individuals<br />
who have left a legacy of positive<br />
change through their mission<br />
to improve mental health<br />
and provide ongoing support to<br />
law enforcement officers. One<br />
such person is David Edwards<br />
who continues to offer a lifeline<br />
to officers throughout the<br />
nation. It is my honor to share<br />
his story this month.<br />
David R. Edwards is president<br />
of Humanizing the Badge, Inc.,<br />
a nonprofit organization seeking<br />
to forge stronger relationships<br />
between police officers and the<br />
communities they serve. David<br />
is also the founder and president<br />
of Call for Backup, a nonprofit<br />
that provides confidential<br />
peer support, resiliency training,<br />
and a suicide awareness<br />
and prevention program for first<br />
responders. With over 40 years<br />
of experience in the areas of<br />
education and public speaking,<br />
David is a pastoral counselor,<br />
police chaplain, and reserve<br />
police officer in Southeast<br />
Michigan. David also teaches in<br />
the social work department of<br />
a private university in Michigan,<br />
is a member of the American<br />
Academy of Experts in Traumatic<br />
Stress, and a member of<br />
the International Law Enforcement<br />
Educators and Trainers<br />
Association.<br />
Humanizing the Badge was<br />
born out of 3 separate efforts<br />
to provide support and encouragement<br />
for police officers<br />
who were struggling under the<br />
weight and stress of the job. In<br />
2014, David founded a Michigan<br />
nonprofit called The 227 Project<br />
- 227 was the badge number of<br />
his son Matthew, a police officer<br />
who was shot and killed in<br />
the line of duty on July 23, 2010<br />
in their hometown of Taylor,<br />
Michigan. David’s other son<br />
Mike (who is better known as<br />
“Mike the Cop” on social media)<br />
began making humorous videos<br />
on Vine and also started a blog<br />
called CopLife. Around that<br />
same time, a police officer’s<br />
wife from the Texas panhandle<br />
(Elizabeth Ogden) wrote a<br />
viral article on Facebook called<br />
“Dear Officer, I See You” and<br />
started a Facebook page called<br />
The We See You Campaign.<br />
The “I See You” article was<br />
written in response to several<br />
high profile police incidents and<br />
the subsequent attacks on police<br />
officers across the country<br />
such as the ambush killing of 2<br />
DR. TINA JAECKLE<br />
NYPD officers on December 20,<br />
2014. Mike saw what Elizabeth<br />
had written, and Elizabeth also<br />
became aware of Mike’s work.<br />
They ended up connecting and<br />
ultimately forming a partnership<br />
that became known as<br />
Humanizing the Badge.<br />
Meanwhile, David was still<br />
focusing his local efforts on<br />
providing critical incident training<br />
and response and serving as<br />
a chaplain at the department<br />
his son Matt had been employed.<br />
Early in 2016, Mike and<br />
Elizabeth asked David to come<br />
on board at Humanizing the<br />
Badge to lead in the formation<br />
of a team that could provide<br />
confidential peer support online<br />
for officers and their family<br />
members as life continued<br />
to become more difficult for<br />
law enforcement everywhere.<br />
Within a year, The 227 Project<br />
changed its name to Humanizing<br />
the Badge, allowing the<br />
organization to grow as<br />
a nationwide nonprofit.<br />
While David assumed a<br />
leadership role as president<br />
of the organization,<br />
both Mike and Elizabeth<br />
held executive positions on<br />
the Board of Directors and<br />
continued to actively participate<br />
in the daily operations.<br />
Several initiatives<br />
were created, including the<br />
provision of workshops,<br />
seminars, and one-onone<br />
support for first responders<br />
and their family<br />
members in the aftermath<br />
of tragedies and a suicide<br />
awareness and prevention<br />
campaign named Call<br />
for Back Up. In the fall of<br />
2020, a new campaign was<br />
launched with another article<br />
on Facebook that went<br />
viral – Dear Officer: #We-<br />
NeedYou. David wrote that<br />
article in response to the<br />
record number of resignations<br />
and early retirements<br />
of police officers across the<br />
country, and the campaign<br />
was started to remind officers<br />
that they are needed, respected,<br />
and supported by millions<br />
of people across the country.<br />
People looking for a peer to<br />
speak with confidentially can<br />
connect with this resource by<br />
sending a message to the Call<br />
for Backup Facebook page at<br />
m.me/callforbackup.org. Those<br />
looking for information about<br />
online or live training programs<br />
can send an email to contact@<br />
callforbackup.org.<br />
David offered the following<br />
additional insight. The unfortunate<br />
reality we face today<br />
is that while a number of<br />
organizations are advocating<br />
for changes in the way police<br />
departments approach the<br />
mental wellness needs of their<br />
officers, the officers themselves<br />
are still skeptical. According<br />
to research, about 80% of<br />
officers believe that there is<br />
still a stigma associated with<br />
reaching out for help for mental<br />
and emotional needs that is<br />
perpetuated by their peers. In<br />
other words, the culture of law<br />
enforcement (and other uniformed<br />
services) is such that<br />
officers convince themselves<br />
98 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 99<br />
To<br />
that they should be tough<br />
enough to handle the stresses<br />
of the job, including critical incidents,<br />
without having to seek<br />
treatment. Those who do seek<br />
treatment are often viewed (or<br />
view themselves) as weak or<br />
ineffective and approximately<br />
90% of officers believe that this<br />
stigma is perpetuated by their<br />
own department. Anything<br />
we can do to help reduce the<br />
level of stigma associated with<br />
mental health in our ranks is<br />
better than ignoring the issue<br />
as has been the case for much<br />
too long.
Myth vs Reality<br />
Regarding Discipline<br />
Over the last few years there<br />
has been a lot of talk about the<br />
heavy-handed discipline that the<br />
department has imposed upon<br />
our members. We have all heard<br />
the stories about officers being<br />
disciplined for mundane violations<br />
of policy from the department.<br />
I want to take a few minutes<br />
to speak about the reality of<br />
disciple and how it works within<br />
the department and how to deal<br />
with discipline issues.<br />
First let’s talk about how the<br />
discipline process works. This<br />
starts with the initial complaint<br />
from a citizen or member of the<br />
department, and it goes through<br />
the investigative process. This<br />
can be done by letter, or as they<br />
have been doing lately, through<br />
interview. Understand that the<br />
department has always been<br />
allowed to interview officers per<br />
Chapter 143 of the Local Government<br />
Code, they have just always<br />
chosen the written questions<br />
in the past. Also know that we<br />
are one of the only agencies in<br />
the state that has done internal<br />
investigations through the written<br />
question process. Once the<br />
investigation is complete, if there<br />
is a sustained allegation or cite, it<br />
will go through the chain of command<br />
for a recommendation from<br />
the division (which often means<br />
an Assistant Chief) on what the<br />
discipline range should be. Once<br />
the division recommendation is<br />
made it is then sent to the Administrative<br />
Discipline Committee<br />
or the Independent Police Oversite<br />
Board depending upon what<br />
type of investigation. The IPOB<br />
only looks at cases to see if they<br />
were investigated properly and if<br />
there are any question that need<br />
to be answered or recommendations<br />
for policy changes. Once<br />
this is completed ALL sustained<br />
complaints goes to the Administrative<br />
Discipline Committee. This<br />
group is made of the chairman<br />
of each of the IPOB groups as<br />
well as the overall Chairman of<br />
IPOB for five civilians, one department<br />
civilian (representing<br />
HOPE), one officer, one Sergeant,<br />
one Lieutenant, one Commander,<br />
one Assistant Chief, and a Union<br />
Representative. This group will<br />
receive the entire IAD packet and<br />
after review make a recommendation<br />
of discipline that will go<br />
to the Chief. The Chief then has<br />
the final say on how much discipline<br />
he or she wants to impose<br />
for the infractions.<br />
Many believe that the HPOU can<br />
control the discipline that the<br />
Chief imposes. This is just not<br />
the case and never has been. The<br />
job of the HPOU is to mitigate<br />
the discipline with the attorneys<br />
up front and then to Arbitrate or<br />
Grieve discipline on the back end.<br />
THE CHIEF HAS THE ULTIMATE<br />
DOUGLAS GRIFFITH<br />
DECISION ON DISCIPLINE! If any<br />
officer believes that discipline is<br />
heavy handed or inappropriate,<br />
we tell them to fight it! The attorneys<br />
are paid to represent you<br />
in these fights with the department<br />
and are happy to do so.<br />
The HPOU pays half the arbitration<br />
cost and the City the other<br />
half and the members pay nothing.<br />
The big problem that we run<br />
into is that most officers do not<br />
want to fight their discipline. We<br />
only arbitrate between 3-5% of<br />
the discipline cases. This is not<br />
due to the HPOU, but to the member<br />
who chooses to take their<br />
discipline without fighting it. The<br />
HPOU CAN NOT fight discipline<br />
on its own, it must be on behalf<br />
of the person aggrieved. We are<br />
always ready, willing, and able to<br />
fight that fight for any officer who<br />
believes they have been wronged<br />
by the department. There are also<br />
those times when the officer will<br />
choose to take a deal because<br />
of personal reasons and we all<br />
should understand that. We will<br />
always fight for officers who feel<br />
they are wrongly disciplined and<br />
want to go to civil service or<br />
arbitration. It is always easy for<br />
some of us to tell others to that<br />
they should fight discipline when<br />
we have no skin in the game and<br />
no chance of losing our jobs. But<br />
we must respect the decision of<br />
each member, who knows their<br />
personal and financial situation<br />
better than anyone else.<br />
I also want to take a second<br />
to talk about the myths that also<br />
get out and seem to grow legs. I<br />
hear time and time again about<br />
officers disciplined for things<br />
just to find out latter that it is<br />
untrue, or only half the story<br />
was told. I was on ADC and can<br />
say without a doubt that most<br />
discipline recommended by the<br />
ADC was fair, but of course there<br />
are always exceptions. The recommended<br />
discipline from ADC<br />
can be enhanced or lowered by<br />
the Chief, as he or she is ultimately<br />
responsible for the discipline<br />
imposed. Understand that<br />
MOST of the time, there is a back<br />
story and the one issue that was<br />
claimed as being responsible for<br />
discipline is not the only issue.<br />
If anyone hears that there is a<br />
case in which discipline is being<br />
imposed that sounds unreasonable,<br />
please do not hesitate to<br />
call the HPOU and let us check<br />
into it. There are cases that we<br />
do not hear about until weeks<br />
later and when we ask if they<br />
appealed, they say no. We need<br />
to know this information up<br />
front so we can try to get ahead<br />
of issues before they get out of<br />
control. Lastly, remember that<br />
rumors are just that, rumors. It is<br />
important to know all the facts<br />
before spreading unsubstantiated<br />
rumors.<br />
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100 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 101
unning 4 heroes<br />
Zechariah<br />
Cartledge:<br />
a True American Hero<br />
Zechariah’s <strong>2021</strong> Run Tracker and Sponsors:<br />
Total Miles Run in <strong>2021</strong>: (as of 5/26/21): 138<br />
Total Miles Run in 2020: 401<br />
Total Miles Run in 2019: <strong>37</strong>6<br />
Overall Miles Run: 915<br />
<strong>2021</strong> Run Stats:<br />
Total Miles Run for <strong>2021</strong> fallen LEO’s (<strong>No</strong>n COVID-19): 69<br />
Total Miles Run for <strong>2021</strong> fallen Firefighters (<strong>No</strong>n COVID-19): 23<br />
Total Miles Run for <strong>2021</strong> fallen COVID-19 Heroes: 12<br />
Total Miles Run for <strong>2021</strong> <strong>No</strong>n Line of Duty Deaths: 0<br />
Total Miles Run for 2020 Fallen LEO’s: 23<br />
Total Miles Run for 2020 Fallen Firefighters: 6<br />
Total Miles Run for 2020/<strong>2021</strong> Fallen K9’s: 0<br />
Total Tribute Runs by State for <strong>2021</strong>: 5<br />
- - - - - - - - - -<br />
States Zechariah has run in: Florida, New York, Georgia (3), South Carolina (2),<br />
Pennsylvania, Illinois (3), Texas (5), Kentucky, Arkansas, Nevada, California,<br />
Arizona, <strong>No</strong>rth Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri<br />
Sponsors/Supporters:<br />
Shoes - Honor And Respect LLC<br />
Stickers - Powercall Sirens LLC<br />
Lights - Guardian Angel Device<br />
T-Shirts - The Tshirt Shop<br />
Tumblers - Nella’s Cottage<br />
Drone Security - Gresco UAS<br />
Games - Zagbag Board<br />
Sporting Goods - Academy Sports + Outdoors<br />
Marketing - Awake Marketing Agency<br />
Legal - Chisholm Law Firm<br />
Coffee - Engine 3 Coffee<br />
Food - MISSION BBQ; Marco’s Pizza; Texas Roadhouse<br />
501(c)3’s - SUPPORT 1; Brotherhood for the Fallen; Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.)<br />
102 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 103
emembering my hero ...<br />
... HPD Officer John Anthony Salvaggio<br />
Concerns of Police Survivors is an organization whose mission is to help rebuild the<br />
shattered lives of those family members and co-workers of law enforcement officers<br />
that are killed in the line of duty. Marybess Salvaggio recalls memories of her husband<br />
John Anthony Salvaggio from a long lost photo.<br />
The other day while I was<br />
going through my desk, I found<br />
an old picture of my family. I<br />
wasn’t a particularly good picture<br />
and was one I hadn’t seen in<br />
years. Yet a flood of memories<br />
hit me as I remembered the day<br />
when this picture was taken. My<br />
husband John had just bought a<br />
new camera and he wanted to<br />
try out the delay timer, so on the<br />
spur of the moment, he told me<br />
and our two daughters to smile<br />
while he jumped into the picture<br />
at the last minute. We looked<br />
like an orphan family. <strong>No</strong>body’s<br />
hair was combed, the house was<br />
a wreck, and I didn’t have any<br />
makeup on. Before, whenever I<br />
saw this picture, I would groan<br />
and casually toss it aside. On<br />
this day, however, I saw so many<br />
things that I’d never seen before.<br />
I saw a lazy Sunday afternoon<br />
just lying around all together. I<br />
wish we could still do that. I<br />
saw his arm around my shoulder<br />
holding me; I wish I could<br />
feel his touch again. I saw his<br />
twinkling eyes and grinning face;<br />
I wish I could look into those<br />
eyes again. I saw myself saying<br />
something like “Don’t’ take my<br />
picture! I look horrible!” I wish I<br />
could hear him laughing at me. I<br />
saw two little girls who looked<br />
safe and secure because they<br />
thought that mommy and daddy<br />
were perfect and would always<br />
be there to keep them safe. I<br />
wish that it hadn’t had to end so<br />
soon. I did not see our son who<br />
was not born until years later.<br />
I wish he could have known<br />
our family as it was back then.<br />
Finally, I didn’t see the pain and<br />
grief that was to be part of our<br />
future. For that I am grateful for<br />
the good years that we did have.<br />
This picture was ripped apart<br />
when my husband, John, a<br />
Houston Police Officer, was<br />
killed in the line of duty. It was<br />
unexpected, sudden, and final. I<br />
realized too late that every day<br />
is a gift and that we should not<br />
take our loved ones for granted<br />
because like the song says, “If tomorrow<br />
never comes,<br />
will they know how<br />
much I loved them?”<br />
Life as I knew it came<br />
to a screeching halt<br />
the night that John<br />
died. It started out<br />
like any other normal<br />
weekend day. With<br />
John having worked<br />
the night shift for<br />
many years, we had<br />
gotten into a schedule<br />
that was both<br />
comfortable and<br />
routine. During that evening, we<br />
did normal family things. We<br />
talked about<br />
Christmas shopping.<br />
We visited<br />
his parents, and<br />
we videotaped<br />
our son taking his<br />
first steps. John<br />
and our younger<br />
daughter had<br />
an argument<br />
about her being<br />
on the phone too<br />
much, and he left<br />
a message on a<br />
friend’s answer<br />
machine making plans for a<br />
hunting trip the next weekend.<br />
As he left for work, he kissed me<br />
on the forehead and said he’d see<br />
me in a few hours. Well, I never<br />
saw him alive again. I got the<br />
knock on the door that all police<br />
officer wives fear. He had been<br />
injured in a hit and run accident<br />
and as I rode to the hospital with<br />
one of his fellow officers, it had<br />
not sunk in how seriously he was<br />
hurt.<br />
The memories of the rest of<br />
the night are like a fog. I remember<br />
feeling as if I was so<br />
calm that I was just watching<br />
this from afar. I didn’t even cry<br />
or scream. I was so quiet. I<br />
didn’t realize that my mind had<br />
shut down because reality was<br />
too painful to bear. I stayed in<br />
this robot-like trance for several<br />
weeks as I took care of details<br />
and went through the motions<br />
of taking care of my children.<br />
Only after things began to quiet<br />
down did I finally realize what I<br />
had lost. That is when I began<br />
to scream and cry and plead to<br />
have my old life back. Memories<br />
of our 16 year marriage were on<br />
my mind constantly. I think our<br />
marriage was good. We had our<br />
share of ups and downs, but I felt<br />
secure in our love for each other.<br />
104 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 105
We met as teenagers, married in<br />
our early twenties, and settled<br />
into married life because we felt<br />
we had found what we wanted<br />
in each other. Things were not<br />
perfect. There were the close<br />
times, the passionate ties, the<br />
worrisome times, the you-makeme-sick<br />
times, and the times<br />
that were just<br />
plain hard work.<br />
We could both<br />
be sarcastic and<br />
stubborn, but I<br />
know I was his<br />
favorite person to<br />
argue with just<br />
as he was mine.<br />
He was so many<br />
things to me, a<br />
friend, a lover,<br />
a cheerleader, a<br />
companion, an<br />
advisor, an antagonist,<br />
and a<br />
teacher. I miss<br />
him very much<br />
and sometimes<br />
the memories<br />
still get to me. Working through<br />
this maze of grief has been the<br />
most difficult job I have ever had.<br />
Trying to sort out what is helpful<br />
in allowing me to carry on with<br />
the rest of my life has taken a<br />
great deal of counseling, prayer,<br />
and discipline.<br />
The cruelest fact I have had to<br />
accept is that John is a part of<br />
my past, he cannot really be in<br />
my future as he once was. He<br />
can only be a memory now, even<br />
though he was the central figure<br />
in my future for so many years.<br />
As a friend told me, when I’m<br />
ready to move on, I must take<br />
my memories of John into my<br />
future, otherwise I’ll allow these<br />
memories to keep me living in<br />
the past. Realizing that many of<br />
my plans have changed forever<br />
has left me feeling insecure. I<br />
don’t feel as lucky or secure as<br />
I use to feel. But maybe that<br />
security was really complacency<br />
and maybe that luck was just<br />
taking life for granted. I lost the<br />
most important person in my<br />
world. <strong>No</strong>thing good could ever<br />
come out of this.<br />
I never thought I would be<br />
able to say this, but some good<br />
things have happened to me.<br />
I’ve met wonderful, caring people<br />
through counseling, C.O.P.S.<br />
and grief support groups. I’ve<br />
learned how much others care<br />
about my children and me. I’ve<br />
met a wonderful man who<br />
thinks I’ve cried enough and has<br />
made it his job to make me happy.<br />
I’ve talked to God more and I<br />
know that He listens. I know that<br />
I can take care of my children<br />
and myself and even if I make a<br />
mistake, I’m doing the best I can.<br />
Looking at that old picture<br />
made me think of another picture<br />
that we took since that<br />
time. Our family has made many<br />
changes. I see four of us still,<br />
but a different four. I see us<br />
all dressed up for a joyous but<br />
bittersweet occasion. We don’t<br />
look like orphans in this picture<br />
even though we might feel like<br />
it in our hearts. I see my two<br />
daughters, lovely young women,<br />
with their lives ahead of them.<br />
They have a<br />
strength in their<br />
eyes because<br />
they have already<br />
felt immense<br />
pain and believe<br />
that nothing can<br />
ever hurt them<br />
as much again. I<br />
don’t think they<br />
will let life’s<br />
pettiness get to<br />
them. I see this<br />
handsome young<br />
man, the image<br />
of the daddy he<br />
will never know.<br />
But one thing he<br />
will know is that<br />
his daddy loved<br />
him very much along with his<br />
sisters and his mom. We have<br />
shared so many memories with<br />
him. I see myself but I don’t see<br />
my old self. She is gone forever.<br />
This new self is determined to<br />
keep this family going in the right<br />
direction. I am solely responsible<br />
for these three precious lives left<br />
in my care. <strong>No</strong>thing will keep me<br />
from doing what I consider to be<br />
my most important job. I see an<br />
older and wiser family, a family<br />
that is prepared for the future<br />
because we now know that we<br />
are not immune to suffering and<br />
grief. But I also know we are not<br />
immune to happiness and peace<br />
either. I know this family has<br />
many wonderful new memories<br />
still to enjoy.<br />
106 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 107
Detention Services Officer<br />
Michael Wall<br />
Los Angeles County Probation Department, California<br />
End of Watch Friday, April 30, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age N/A Tour 14 Years Badge # N/A<br />
Detention Services Officer Michael Wall suffered a fatal heart attack<br />
shortly after restraining a juvenile offender who had led a mob assault on<br />
another juvenile offender at the Central Juvenile Hall at 1605 Eastlake<br />
Avenue in Los Angeles. Officer Wall suddenly collapsed into the arms of<br />
another officer, who immediately began CPR along with other staff. Officer<br />
Wall was transported to a local hospital where he passed away during<br />
emergency surgery.<br />
Officer Wall had served with the Los Angeles County Probation Department<br />
for 14 years. He is survived by his daughter and sisters.<br />
Sergeant<br />
John Burright<br />
Oregon State Police, Oregon<br />
End of Watch Tuesday, May 4, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 61 Tour 14 Years Badge # N/A<br />
Sergeant John Burright succumbed to injuries sustained on September 4th,<br />
2001, when he struck by a vehicle near mile marker 243 on I-5 near Albany.<br />
Senior Trooper Maria Mignano and Police Officer Jason Hoerauf, of the Albany<br />
Police Department, were killed in the same incident while all three were assisting<br />
a family whose van had broken down.<br />
Sergeant Burright had served with the Oregon State Police for 14 years. He is<br />
survived by his wife and three sons.<br />
In 2016 a street in Salem, Oregon, was named in Sergeant Burright’s honor.<br />
Detective<br />
Luca Benedetti<br />
San Luis Obispo Police Department, California<br />
End of Watch Monday, May 10, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age <strong>37</strong> Tour 12 Years Badge # N/A<br />
Detective Luca Benedetti was shot and killed as he and other detectives<br />
executed a search warrant as part of an investigation of a series of burglaries.<br />
The detectives approached the apartment, identified themselves,<br />
and asked to enter. They waited an extended period of time with no response<br />
before forcing entry into the apartment. The suspect was laying<br />
in wait inside and opened fire as the detectives entered the apartment.<br />
Detective Benedetti and another detective were both struck. The subject<br />
was also wounded by return fire and later committed suicide. Detective<br />
Benedetti was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his<br />
wounds.<br />
Deputy Sheriff<br />
Samuel Alexander Leonard<br />
Concho County Sheriff’s Office, Texas<br />
End of Watch Monday, May 10, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 26 Tour 1 Year 6 Months Badge # 2402<br />
Deputy Sheriff Samuel Leonard and Sergeant Stephen Jones were shot<br />
and killed while responding to a complaint about a dog in the 100 block of<br />
Bryan Street in Eden, Texas. An altercation occurred as both deputies,<br />
along with an Eden municipal employee, made contact with a subject at<br />
a residence. The subject fatally shot both deputies and critically wounded<br />
the city employee before being taken into custody. The man has been<br />
charged with two counts of capital murder of a police officer.<br />
Deputy Sheriff Leonard served with the Concho County Sheriff’s Office for<br />
six months, having spent one and a half years as a deputy/officer.<br />
Detective Benedetti had served with the San Luis Obispo Police Department<br />
for 12 years. He is survived by his wife and two children.<br />
108 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 109
Sergeant<br />
Stephen Jones<br />
Concho County Sheriff’s Office, Texas<br />
End of Watch Monday, May 10, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 34 Tour 8 Years Badge 2404<br />
Police Officer<br />
Jimmy Inn<br />
Stockton Police Department, California<br />
End of Watch Tuesday, May 11, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 30 Tour 6 Years, Badge # N/A<br />
Sergeant Stephen Jones and Deputy Sheriff Samuel Leonard were shot<br />
and killed while responding to a complaint about a dog in the 100 block of<br />
Bryan Street in Eden, Texas. An altercation occurred as both deputies,<br />
along with an Eden municipal employee, made contact with a subject at<br />
a residence. The subject fatally shot both deputies and critically wounded<br />
the city employee before being taken into custody. The man has been<br />
charged with two counts of capital murder of a police officer.<br />
Sergeant Jones had served with the Concho County Sheriff’s Office for<br />
eight years.<br />
Police Officer<br />
Chris Oberheim<br />
Champaign Police Department, Illinois<br />
End of Watch Wednesday, May 19, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 44 Tour 20 years Badge #703<br />
Police Officer Chris Oberheim was shot and killed at about 3:20 am while<br />
responding to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex in<br />
the 3200 block of <strong>No</strong>rth Neil Street. He and another officer had arrived<br />
at the location and were walking from their patrol cars when they encountered<br />
a male subject involved in the disturbance. The man opened fire on<br />
both officers, fatally wounding Officer Oberheim. The second officer was<br />
also wounded but was able to return fire and killed the subject.<br />
Officer Oberheim had served with the Champaign Police Department for<br />
13 years and had previously served with the Decatur Police Department<br />
for seven years. He is survived by his wife and four children.<br />
Police Officer Jimmy Inn was shot and killed while responding to a domestic<br />
violence call in the 4400 block of La Cresta Way. He was approaching<br />
the front door of the residence when a man opened fire on him, fatally<br />
wounding him. A second officer arriving at the home exchanged gunfire<br />
with the subject, who ran back inside of the home. He emerged moments<br />
later holding an 8-year-old boy and began to strangle the child. A bystander<br />
then tackled the subject who was then shot and killed by the<br />
other officer. Officer Inn was transported to a local hospital where he<br />
succumbed to his wounds.<br />
Officer Inn had served with the Stockton Police Department for six years.<br />
He is survived by his wife, 7-month-old son, and two stepchildren. His wife<br />
also works for the Stockton Police Department..<br />
Police Officer<br />
Jeremy Brinton<br />
<strong>No</strong>gales Police Department, Arizona<br />
End of Watch Friday, May 21, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 40 Tour 18 Years<br />
Badge N/A<br />
Police Officer Jeremy Brinton succumbed to injuries sustained the previous<br />
evening when he was struck by a vehicle on I-19 near the Mariposa<br />
Road exit at about 8:15 pm. Officer Brinton was working an overtime<br />
assignment and assisting with lane closures at a road construction site.<br />
He was struck by a car as he stood outside of his patrol car. He was flown<br />
to Banner University Medical Center where he succumbed to injuries the<br />
following day.<br />
Officer Brinton had served with the <strong>No</strong>gales Police Department for 18<br />
years. He is survived by his wife and four children.<br />
110 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 111
Corporal<br />
Thomas Wade Frazier<br />
Artesia Police Department, New Mexico<br />
End of Watch Friday, May 21, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 42 Tour 17 Years Badge # N/A<br />
Corporal Thomas Frazier was killed in an automobile crash on US Highway<br />
285 near milepost 77, north of Artesia, at about 10:45 am.<br />
He was involved in an active investigation when his vehicle collided with<br />
the back of a tractor-trailer that was turning off of the roadway.<br />
Corporal Frazier had served with the Artesia Police Department for five<br />
years and was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division. He had<br />
previously served with the Shenandoah County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office<br />
for 12 years. He also served as the chief of the Sun Country <strong>Vol</strong>unteer<br />
Fire Department in New Mexico. He is survived by his wife and four children.<br />
Police Officer<br />
Scotty Triplett<br />
Memphis Police Department, Tennessee<br />
End of Watch Saturday, May 22, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 47 Tour 27 Years Badge # N/A<br />
Police Officer Scotty Triplett was killed in a motorcycle crash while he and<br />
other officers performed an escort along Hickory Hill Road at about 4:45<br />
pm.<br />
He was traveling northbound when an oncoming car disregarded his emergency<br />
equipment and turned left in front of him at the intersection with<br />
Swaying Pine Lane, causing a collision. Officer Triplett was transported to<br />
a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.<br />
Officer Triplett had served with the Memphis Police Department for 27<br />
years. He is survived by his wife and two children.<br />
Detective<br />
Stephen Arnold<br />
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana<br />
End of Watch Sunday, May 23, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 35 Tour 12 Years Badge # N/A<br />
Detective Stephen Arnold succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on<br />
January 26th, 2016, while serving a search warrant and arrest warrant<br />
in the 3500 block of Douglas Street in New Orleans. He and other members<br />
of a DEA Task Force had knocked on the home’s door and announced<br />
themselves but did not receive a response. As they forced entry into<br />
the home the wanted subject opened fire from inside, striking Detective<br />
Arnold five times. Detective Arnold remained in a coma until passing away<br />
from his wounds on May 23, <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
Detective Arnold had served with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office for<br />
12 years and was assigned to the DEA Task Force. He is survived by his<br />
parents and two sisters.<br />
Conservation Officer<br />
Sarah Grell<br />
Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources , Minnesota<br />
End of Watch Monday, May 24, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 39 Tour 16 Years Badge # 478<br />
Conservation Officer Sarah Grell was killed in a vehicle crash at the intersection<br />
of County Road 336 and County Road 57 in Itasca County at<br />
about 8:30 am.<br />
Her department vehicle was struck on the passenger side by a tractor<br />
trailer.<br />
Officer Grell had served with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources<br />
for 16 years. She is survived by her husband and three children.<br />
Her uncle, father, and grandfather also served as conservation officers<br />
with the agency.<br />
112 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 113
Our Brothers & Sisters in Blue, taken too soon<br />
Deputy Sheriff<br />
Daniel “Duke” Trujillo<br />
Denver Sheriff’s Department, Colorado<br />
End of Watch Wednesday, May 26, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 33 Tour 7 Years Badge # N/A<br />
Deputy Sheriff Duke Trujillo died from complications as the result of contracting<br />
COVID-19 in the line of duty at the Downtown Detention Center.<br />
Deputy Trujillo had served with the Denver Sheriff’s Department for seven<br />
years.<br />
Beginning in early 2020, thousands of law enforcement officers and other<br />
first responders throughout the country contracted COVID-19 during<br />
the worldwide pandemic due to requirements of their job. Many of these<br />
first responders have died as a result of COVID-19, and continue to do so<br />
as the virus spreads across the United States.<br />
Trooper<br />
John Harris<br />
Mississippi DPS - Highway Patrol, Mississippi<br />
End of Watch Friday, May 28, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age N/A Tour N/A Badge # Z-21<br />
Trooper John Harris was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on State<br />
Highway 16 near Old Yazoo City Road in Madison County.<br />
He was making a traffic stop when he was struck by the semi.<br />
Trooper Harris is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.<br />
Sergeant<br />
Dominic Vaca<br />
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, California<br />
End of Watch Monday, May 31, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Age 43 Tour 17 Years Badge N/A<br />
Sergeant Dominic Vaca was shot and killed following a vehicle pursuit of<br />
a motorcycle in Yucca Valley at about 2:00 pm. Deputies were conducting<br />
enforcement operations for off-highway vehicle violations when they<br />
attempted to stop the motorcycle near Paxton Road and Imperial Drive<br />
for having no license plate. The driver abandoned the motorcycle near<br />
Dumosa Avenue and Sunnyslope Drive and set up an ambush for responding<br />
deputies. As the deputies approached the motorcycle the subject<br />
opened fire on them, fatally wounding Sergeant Vaca. Other deputies<br />
returned fire and killed the subject. Sergeant Vaca was flown to a trauma<br />
center where he died a short time later.<br />
“When a police officer is killed,<br />
it’s not an agency that loses an officer,<br />
it’s an entire nation.”<br />
Chris Cosgriff, ODMP Founder<br />
Sergeant Vaca had served with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department<br />
for 17 years.<br />
114 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 115
Summer = Beach + Beach Front Fishing<br />
ED: A Classic Reprint from our<br />
June 2020 Issue. With COVID<br />
winding down, it’s time to hit the<br />
road for good ole Florida Fishing.<br />
The month of June marks the<br />
beginning of summer and the<br />
start of long weekends and family<br />
vacations. Well, this summer<br />
will undoubtably be different as<br />
we learn to do almost everything<br />
with social distancing. But there<br />
is no better form of social distancing<br />
that I can think of then<br />
wade fishing off the beachfront<br />
in the Gulf of Mexico while your<br />
family is hanging out on the<br />
beach. If you live in Texas, we<br />
have a lot of great coastline to<br />
fish. However, my new favorite<br />
beach and fishing grounds are<br />
the beaches of the Florida Panhandle,<br />
specifically<br />
an area<br />
between<br />
Destin and<br />
Panama<br />
City called<br />
30a. It is<br />
referred<br />
to as 30a<br />
after the<br />
two-lane<br />
beach<br />
road that<br />
runs 26<br />
miles<br />
along the<br />
beach<br />
through<br />
twelve unique beach towns like,<br />
Rosemary Beach, Seaside, Watercolor,<br />
and my personal favorite,<br />
Blue Mountain Beach. If<br />
you do an internet search of 30a<br />
Florida, you will find all kinds of<br />
information on this place. This<br />
area is a very popular vacation<br />
spot for families with kids as<br />
the beaches are wide open and<br />
clean with exceptionally white<br />
sand and the water is warm &<br />
crystal clear. Trust me, if you<br />
haven’t been there, you will think<br />
you have arrived in the Caribbean<br />
and if your family seeks out<br />
beach vacation spots, you must<br />
visit this area.<br />
If you are going to fish, recognize<br />
that you will either need<br />
to find some of the more remote<br />
beaches like Topsail Hill Preserve<br />
State Park, or just plan on fishing<br />
early or late when the swimmers<br />
are not out there. Another option<br />
is fishing one of the many rare<br />
dune lakes that run to the ocean,<br />
but that will be a story for<br />
another issue. Like anywhere,<br />
beachfront<br />
wade fishing<br />
can be hit or<br />
miss depending<br />
on tides<br />
and the presence<br />
of bait<br />
fish in the<br />
water. However,<br />
with the<br />
water being<br />
so clear,<br />
you will not<br />
have a problem<br />
seeing<br />
baitfish or<br />
schooling<br />
fish. There<br />
is a second<br />
sandbar that runs the entire<br />
beach and can easily be seen.<br />
Although that bar is too deep to<br />
wade fish from, I usually have<br />
pretty good luck fishing the<br />
deep-water gut and the water<br />
on top of the second bar. Both<br />
of which are within lure casting<br />
range when standing in waist<br />
deep water just off the beachfront.<br />
On one of my last trips I<br />
was casting red/white mullet<br />
plugs and having the best time<br />
catching and releasing lady fish.<br />
I would watch for the schools to<br />
work the bait fish just on top of<br />
the second bar and with every<br />
well-placed cast, I connected<br />
with a ladyfish which ran and<br />
danced out of the water like a<br />
small tarpon. <strong>No</strong>t good for the<br />
table, but certainly an awesome<br />
fighting fish on light tackle. I<br />
have also seen guys fishing for<br />
Pompano, Mackerel, Redfish, and<br />
have even heard of guys catching<br />
small sailfish during certain<br />
times of year using Kayaks just<br />
offshore. I don’t think you can<br />
find cleaner water, prettier white<br />
sand beaches, and a better place<br />
to take the family, all just a tenhour<br />
drive from Houston. You<br />
should make plans now because<br />
you will not be the only one<br />
looking to escape your house<br />
lock-down to enjoy some social<br />
distancing with a fishing rod just<br />
off the beach.<br />
If you are going there:<br />
While there are some small<br />
hotels, most of the people rent<br />
homes off Airbnb or VRBO. I<br />
recommend finding a home in<br />
Old Seagrove or Watercolor<br />
or if you want to splurge and<br />
get beachfront, I found Grayton<br />
Beach, Blue Mountain Beach and<br />
Dune Allen Beach to be a better<br />
value. If you are not the house<br />
or condo rental type, you can<br />
look at staying in Sandestin at<br />
the Marriott Courtyard, or there<br />
is a nice small hotel called 30a<br />
Suites I recommend. For all your<br />
fishing needs, go see the guys at<br />
Bay Baits near the Hwy 331 Bay<br />
Bridge, or Old Florida Outfitters<br />
off 30a.<br />
For all of your kayak or bike<br />
rental needs, or even to have a<br />
private beach bonfire set up for<br />
you, Rent Gear Here is an easy,<br />
full-service company that delivers<br />
everything right to you.<br />
Favorite restaurants are Cowgirl<br />
Kitchen or Perfect Pig for<br />
Breakfast, the Great Southern<br />
Cafe or the Shrimp Shack in<br />
Seaside for lunch, and The Bay<br />
Restaurant or Amici Italian Kitchen<br />
for dinner.<br />
116 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 117
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118 118 The The BLUES BLUES POLICE POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
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120 120 The The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 121
ADS BACK IN THE DAY<br />
122 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 123
124 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 125
Clifton Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Schleicher County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Baytown Get Info Chief of Police 07/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Center Get Info Peace Officer 07/21/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Carrollton Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/12/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Houston Community College PD Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Corsicana Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Bellmead Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Glasscock County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 06/14/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Elgin Get Info Peace Officer 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Schleicher County Sheriff Get Info Peace Officer 06/25/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Baylor University Get Info Peace Officer 06/14/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Glasscock County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 06/15/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Bulverde Get Info Peace Officer 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Lufkin Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Pelican Bay Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Ransom Canyon Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/26/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Pelican Bay Police Department Get Info Peace Officer (Reserve) 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Avlarado ISD Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/26/<strong>2021</strong> - 2pm<br />
Cedar Hill ISD PD Get Info Peace Office 06/19/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Texas A&M University-Commerce PD Get Info Peace Officer 07/26/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Hays County Constables Office Precinct 1 Get Info Peace Officer 06/21/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Spur Police Department Get Info Chief of Police 06/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 10/10/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Waco Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/31/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Crosbyton Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/19/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Kendall County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer (Investigator) 06/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Coryell County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 06/22/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Anna ISD Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/23/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Texas Woman’s University Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/23/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Argyle Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/25/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Oldham County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 06/01/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Flower Mound Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/28/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Aubrey Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Seagraves Police Department Get Info Chief of Police 08/27/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
TJC Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/27/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Victoria Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/27/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Lamar University Get Info Chief of Police 06/03/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Nassau Bay Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/31/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
McLennan Community College Police Dept. Get Info Peace Officer 07/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Bryan Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/23/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Onalaska Get Info Peace Officer 07/07/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Armstrong County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 06/18/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer (Reserve) 07/05/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
UT Southwestern Medical Center Get Info Peace Officer 07/04/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Southwestern Baptist Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/02/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Keller Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/09/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Austin Get Info Chief of Police 07/05/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
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Frisco Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/07/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Hawley Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/04/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Merkel Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/07/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Spearman Police Department Get Info Chief of Police 07/05/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Rollingwood Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/09/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Ochiltree County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Bruceville-Eddy Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/09/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Goliad County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/04/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Houston Community College PD Get Info Chief of Police 06/18/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Highland Village Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/08/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Poth Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/10/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Harker Heights Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/18/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Bexar County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/12/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Windcrest Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/24/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Smith County Fire Marshal's Office Get Info Fire Marshal 08/03/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Hays County Sheriff's Ofice Get Info School Resource Officer 06/10/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Milam County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/04/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
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City of Bryan Get Info Deputy City Marshal 08/08/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Mustang Ridge Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Ingram Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/08/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer (full time) 06/18/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Plano Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Marlin Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/13/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission Get Info Probationary Agent 06/21/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Pewitt CISD Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/18/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
TSTC Get Info Peace Officer 08/07/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
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Eastland Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/07/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
UT at Tyler Get Info Peace Officer 07/13/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
New Braunfels Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/14/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Sealy ISD Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Walker County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 08/09/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
TRWD Law Enforcement Division Get Info Peace Officer 06/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Naples Police Department Get Info Chief of Police 08/09/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Town of Enchanted Oaks Get Info Chief of Police 07/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
University Park Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/25/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Austin College Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/18/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Texas City Fire Department Get Info Fire Marshal 08/05/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Pflugerville Police Department Get Info Chief of Police 06/18/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Sterling County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 08/10/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Kleberg County Sheriff's Office Get Info School Resource Officer 07/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
<strong>No</strong>rth Central Texas College Get Info Peace Officer 08/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Kleberg County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Katy Get Info Peace Officer 07/02/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Kleberg County Sheriff's Office Get Info Court Security Officer 07/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
Loving County Sheriffs Office Get Info School Resource Officer 08/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
TRWD Law Enforcement Division Get Info Peace Officer 06/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />
126 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 127
EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS<br />
• Paid Vacation<br />
• Sick Leave<br />
• Paid Holidays<br />
• Personal Days<br />
• Compensatory Days<br />
• Certification Pay<br />
ALDINE ISD POLICE DEPT.<br />
now accepting applications for<br />
Dispatch Supervisor<br />
Salary starting at $47,211<br />
Dispatchers<br />
Salary starting at $32,<strong>37</strong>3<br />
TO APPLY VISIT<br />
WWW.ALDINEISD.ORG<br />
OR<br />
Contact the Personnel<br />
Department at<br />
281-985-7571<br />
OR<br />
Contact Sergeant R. Hall at<br />
281-442-4923<br />
HIRING PROCESS<br />
• Oral Board Panel Interview<br />
• Complete Personal History Statement<br />
• Psychological Evaluation<br />
• Medical Examination<br />
• Interview with the Chief of Police<br />
LATERAL DEPUTY<br />
128 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 129
MAKE A<br />
DIFFERENCE<br />
IN YOUR<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
We are looking for outstanding individuals to<br />
join our team! As a Pearland Police Officer your<br />
mission will be to prevent crime and disorder, build<br />
partnerships within the community, and positively<br />
impact the quality of life for all our residents.<br />
CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS<br />
• Competitive Salary • Outstanding Training<br />
• Career Advancement • Exceptional Benefits<br />
The City of Pearland is one of the fastest growing<br />
communities within the region. Pearland is located<br />
approximately 20 minutes south of Downtown Houston<br />
and the current population is approximately 130,000<br />
residents.<br />
JOIN OUR TEAM<br />
HIRING POLICE OFFICERS AND CADETS<br />
$5,000 Hiring Incentive for T.C.O.L.E Certified Police<br />
Officers who qualify with at least 2 years of experience.<br />
TEST DATE:<br />
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 8:30 A.M.<br />
Register by: April 12.<br />
Pearland Recreation Center & Natatorium<br />
4141 Bailey Road, Pearland, TX 77584.<br />
Doors Open: 7:15 a.m. <strong>No</strong> admittance after 7:45 a.m.<br />
Candidates must park in the north parking lot.<br />
SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES WILL APPLY<br />
• Attendance limited to first 150 arrivals<br />
• Mandatory temperature checks<br />
• Masks required, hand sanitizer available<br />
• Candidates seated 6 feet apart<br />
<br />
<br />
•Be a citizen of the nited tates able to read,<br />
write, and speak the English language<br />
• Have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate .E.. certified by<br />
the issuing agency with:<br />
0 credit hours with a cumulative PA of 2.0 or higher on a .0 scale from an accredited<br />
institute of higher learning or<br />
- Minimum 24 months of active duty service with an honorable discharge authenticated by<br />
a Member 2 or Member orm 21 or<br />
15 credit hours with a cumulative PA of 2.0 or higher on a .0 scale in addition to Basic<br />
Peace Officer Certification from TCOLE or<br />
An Intermediate Peace Officer Certification from TCOLE<br />
• Valid driver’s license with acceptable driving record<br />
• Must meet all legal requirements necessary to become a licensed Peace Officer by the Texas<br />
Commission on Law Enforcement TCOLE.<br />
• Be between 21 and 5 years of age at the time of the examination or<br />
• Be between 18 and 21 years of age if the applicant has received an associate’s degree or 60<br />
semester hours of credit from an accredited college or university or has received an honorable<br />
discharge from the armed forces of the nited tates after at least two years of active service.<br />
: Cadet $1. hourly Police Officer $2. hourly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
April 12, <strong>2021</strong>. Applications will not be accepted after this date.<br />
Submit applications online by visiting pearlandtx.gov/careers.<br />
THE CITY OF PEARLAND IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER<br />
pecial accommodations are available when necessary to aord equal opportunity to participate<br />
in testing. Please make request in writing, five business days prior to the test date to City of<br />
Pearland, HR Department, 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland, TX 77581.<br />
or questions regarding the application process please contact Terene uddsohnson at<br />
281.652.1617 or hr@pearlandtx.gov.<br />
List will remain in eect for one 1 year or until exhausted, whichever is sooner.<br />
130 The For BLUES additional POLICE information MAGAZINE and to register for an upcoming Civil Service Exam, visit<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 131<br />
pearlandtx.gov/PDCareers
Montgomery<br />
County Pct. 4<br />
Constable's<br />
Office<br />
full-time<br />
&<br />
reserve<br />
COME JOIN US!<br />
great retirement &<br />
great insurance<br />
Advancement Opportunities: Criminal<br />
Investigations - Special Response Team - Honor<br />
Guard - Special Response Group - Swift Water<br />
Rescue Team - K9 - Mounted Patrol - Drone team<br />
overtime opportunities: step - dwi<br />
enforcement - special teams - evidence - jp<br />
security<br />
Stipend Pay: k9 - specialist - fto deputy<br />
paid time off: holiday - vacation - comp time -<br />
personal - paid training<br />
salary - step pay slotted based on tcole full-time years of<br />
service:<br />
Under 2 yrs - $48,755.20 9 Yrs - $59,508.80<br />
2 Yrs - $51,188.80 12 Yrs - $61,150.40<br />
4 Yrs - $53,726.40 15 Yrs - $65,270.40<br />
6 Yrs - $56,368.00 16+ Yrs - $68,536.0<br />
license certification (up to $3599) and longevity pay<br />
civil service protected<br />
MORE INFO:<br />
Constable Kenneth "Rowdy" Hayden<br />
Pickup and complete applicant in 1.<br />
person.<br />
questionnaire<br />
Pct. 4 Constable, Montgomery County, TX<br />
assessment, 2.<br />
written exam<br />
Firearms qualification, fitness<br />
21130 personality Hwy assessment 59 scheduled.<br />
Ste. C New Caney, TX and 77357<br />
www.mcco4.org - 281.577.8985 -<br />
candidates 3.<br />
passing Successfully personal<br />
receive will<br />
@mcconstablepct4<br />
book.<br />
history<br />
132 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 133<br />
board.<br />
4. Oral
Come join the Plano Police Department<br />
Plano Police Department currently employs over 414 peace officers, who are dedicated individuals that<br />
work with the community to create and maintain a safe, secure environment for our residents and visitors.<br />
We are a diverse department, which is a reflection of the various cultures within the community, and offering<br />
many different opportunities to promote the safety of the citizens which we serve.<br />
Registration Deadline:<br />
Friday, July 30, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Register at:<br />
https://www.plano.gov/1183/Employment<br />
The Plano Police Department will conduct<br />
a Civil Service Examination in order to<br />
establish an eligibility list for the position<br />
of Entry-level Police Officer. The eligibility<br />
list is created as a result of this examination<br />
and application process will remain in effect<br />
for a period of (6) months (beginning<br />
on date of test) or until the list has been<br />
exhausted, whichever occurs first.<br />
For more information:<br />
Contact the Plano Police recruiter<br />
Officer Andrae Smith at:<br />
andraes@plano.gov<br />
or go to our website at:<br />
ppdrecruiting@plano.gov<br />
134 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 135
Ingram Police Department<br />
NOW HIRING<br />
FULL-TIME POLICE OFFICERS<br />
June <strong>2021</strong><br />
A PROFESSION THAT MAKES YOU PROUD<br />
Ingram Police Department<br />
226 Hwy 39<br />
Ingram, Texas 78025<br />
(830) 367-2636<br />
Texas Peace Officers,<br />
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has started the hiring process for the next<br />
Probationary Agent Academy. Several positions will be filled throughout the State of Texas.<br />
TABC investigates offenses related to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, the Texas Penal Code,<br />
and other applicable statutes. TABC ensures public safety at licensed and permitted locations and<br />
participates in undercover operations to eliminate organized crime. TABC conducts complex<br />
human trafficking investigations throughout Texas.<br />
Minimum Job Qualifications:<br />
• Must be at least 21 years of age,<br />
• Must have a valid Texas driver license, and<br />
• Must be certified as a Texas peace officer by the Texas Commission on Law<br />
Enforcement (TCOLE).<br />
• Four years of law enforcement experience required but may be substituted for a related<br />
degree or military experience. Refer to job posting number 202299999 for additional<br />
details.<br />
• Travel Requirement: Ability to travel up to 90%<br />
Qualified candidates must pass the physical readiness test and complete the written exam. The next<br />
step includes an interview and pre-employment background check, which includes but is not<br />
limited to comprehensive background investigation, criminal history, driving record and credit<br />
checks.<br />
Starting Salary $46,720<br />
Vacation, Holiday, and Sick Pay Provided<br />
Health Insurance, Life Insurance, 2-1 Retirement<br />
match, take home vehicle within service area.<br />
Minimum of basic police certification required<br />
For additional information regarding this job opportunity, visit the TABC Website.<br />
136 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 1<strong>37</strong>
MILAM COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE<br />
WE’RE HIRING!<br />
PAY<br />
Patrol Deputy: $49,220/yr<br />
Sergeant:<br />
$51,360/yr<br />
CID Lieutenant: $56,705/yr<br />
CID Captain:<br />
$58,845/yr<br />
BENEFITS:<br />
PATROL DEPUTY OPENING!<br />
It’s not just a job<br />
It’s a Career<br />
Health Insurance: 100% of premium paid ($9,193.20/yr).<br />
County Retirement benefits provided.<br />
Vacation, Holiday, Sick Leave.<br />
Longevity pay begins after 4 years.<br />
Vehicle: Take-home vehicle.<br />
Cell phone: County-provided cell phone<br />
DEPUTY CITY MARSHAL<br />
JOB POSTING<br />
The City of Bryan, Texas is currently accepting applications for Deputy City Marshal. This position serves warrants, subpoenas,<br />
and writs out of the Bryan Municipal Court and performs duties as bailiff during court sessions.<br />
RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:<br />
• Serves arrest warrants, subpoenas, and various misdemeanor writs issued by the Municipal Court.<br />
• Researches location of wanted individuals utilizing various computers, associated software, directories, law enforcement<br />
agencies and business establishments.<br />
• Prior to warrant execution, conducts a warrant check on each warrant to be served. <strong>No</strong>tifies defendants of active warrant(s)<br />
and advises to pay fines/fees in order to avoid arrest.<br />
• Apprehends, arrests, and maintains custody of offenders; safely and securely transports offenders to jail, court, medical<br />
facilities and any other designated locations.<br />
• Prepares reports and processes all paperwork related to serving and clearing warrants.<br />
• Collects fines and/or receives cash bonds.<br />
• Serves as court bailiff and performs related duties as needed.<br />
• Operates assigned patrol vehicles. Emergency and pursuit situations require speeds in excess of posted limits and require<br />
officers to exercise due care and caution.<br />
• Demonstrates competent weapons proficiency per certification standards; Must be able to load, unload, aim, and fire<br />
assigned weapon from a variety of body positions and under conditions of stress.<br />
• Performs related duties as required.<br />
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:<br />
• High School Diploma or GED, plus some additional training or education in area of specialization equivalent to an Associate's<br />
degree.<br />
• Must possess least two (2) year of experience as a marshal, warrant officer or patrol officer with a Texas municipal court or<br />
police department, or equivalent.<br />
• Must possess a basic certification (or higher) as a peace officer by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE).<br />
• Must possess Court Security Specialist Certification from TCOLE, or have the ability to obtain the certification within one (1)<br />
year from date of hire.<br />
• If applicable, discharge from military service must be under honorable conditions.<br />
• Must possess good moral character, stable employment record and no history of any conduct which may affect suitability<br />
for law enforcement work.<br />
STARTING SALARY:<br />
$46,900 - $58,240 / year (depending on experience)<br />
APPLY IN PERSON OR AT WWW.MILAMCOUNTYTX.ORG<br />
Q U E S T I O N S ? C A L L: 254.697.7033<br />
TO APPLY:<br />
A City of Bryan application is required. If interested, visit the link below and select ‘Apply to this Posting’. Please attach a<br />
resume at the time of application. Applicants will receive an online confirmation upon successfully applying.<br />
CLICK HERE TO APPLY<br />
138 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 139
POLICE OFFICER<br />
The City of Katy is accepting applications for full-time Police Officers for the Katy Police Department.<br />
The primary responsibility of all uniform patrol officers is to protect the lives and property of the people of the City<br />
of Katy, to enforce the laws of the government, state and city and to serve the people in the manner necessary<br />
within the scope and duty of their particular assignment.<br />
ESSENTIAL DUTIES:<br />
• Acts as a crime deterrent; patrols all businesses and residential neighborhoods looking for suspicious and<br />
criminal activities<br />
• Prepares a variety of reports and records including but not limited to daily logs, investigation reports, field<br />
interrogation reports, accident reports, and arrest reports<br />
• Responds to calls for service; investigates accident scenes, reports of criminal activities, civil and domestic<br />
disturbances, illegal drug activities, and missing persons; takes appropriate actions; investigates unsafe<br />
conditions in streets and other locations<br />
• Conducts searches of vehicles, homes, businesses, and other areas for contraband and drugs; assists in<br />
serving warrants and subpoenas<br />
• Performs traffic enforcement duties; enforces traffic laws and issues citations; makes arrests as appropriate<br />
MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS:<br />
• Minimum age 21. High School or GED.<br />
• Must be a current TCOLE Certified Peace Officer, or in the process of obtaining by September 1, <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
• Ability to work all shifts, holidays and weekends, and a variety of assignments as directed<br />
• Applicants must pass a physical agility test, firearms proficiency test, written exam, oral interview board,<br />
background check, psychological, and post-offer medical exam and drug screen<br />
• Applicants must be a minimum 21 years of age, a U.S. citizen, hold a valid State of Texas Driver License and<br />
have good driving record<br />
• Applicants must have never been convicted of a Class B misdemeanor in the last ten years or ever been<br />
convicted of a Class A misdemeanor<br />
• Military discharges must be Honorable; TCOLE discharges must be Honorable<br />
• Applicants must pass a standardized push up and sit up test, Concept 2- 2000 meter row test, firearms course<br />
and written test.<br />
TESTING DATE: July 13, <strong>2021</strong>, 9:00 AM.<br />
Eligible applicants will be contacted regarding testing.<br />
Deadline to apply: July 1, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Apply online: www.cityofkaty.com<br />
The City of Katy is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disability Amendments Act and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.<br />
6/10/21<br />
140 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 141
Starting Salary<br />
$44,995<br />
────<br />
Vacation, Holiday,<br />
and Sick Pay<br />
Provided<br />
────<br />
The City of Victoria<br />
invites applications for the position of:<br />
Police Officer or Senior Police Officer<br />
Salary<br />
$48,045 - $68,500 Annually DOQ<br />
Location<br />
Victoria, TX<br />
Job Type<br />
Full-Time<br />
MUSTANG<br />
RIDGE POLICE<br />
DEPARTMENT<br />
NOW HIRING<br />
CERTIFIED<br />
OFFICERS<br />
Join Our Team Today!<br />
The City of Mustang Ridge is situated along US Hwy 183 and is<br />
located primarily in Travis County with portions in Caldwell and<br />
Bastrop County. We are minutes away from Circuit of the<br />
Americas and ABIA. Officers work rotating 12 hour shifts and we<br />
utilize the Travis County Sheriff’s Office for Dispatch.<br />
12 Hour Shifts<br />
────<br />
401K Provided<br />
────<br />
Angel Armor Load<br />
Bearing Vest<br />
Provided<br />
SUBMIT COMPLETED<br />
PERSONAL HISTORY<br />
STATEMENTS TO:<br />
lcantu@mustangridgetx.gov<br />
clerk@mustangridgetx.gov<br />
PHS Forms can be obtained<br />
at the following link:<br />
https://www.tcole.texas.gov/<br />
content/forms-andapplications<br />
JOB SUMMARY<br />
The Victoria Police Department is hiring qualified police officer candidates to join our<br />
team and to help enhance the livability of our community. VPD sets the bar for<br />
professionalism, innovation and a progressive approach to our policing strategies. Our<br />
workforce of more than 115 officers and 32 civilian support personnel are a dedicated,<br />
enthusiastic group of professionals who proudly serve over 65,000 Victoria residents.<br />
The Victoria Police Department offers a competitive salary and retirement structure,<br />
great health benefits, and many other incentives such as paid time off and departmentissued<br />
uniforms and equipment.<br />
Officers have lateral and promotional opportunities. Regardless of the assignment, you<br />
will work in an environment that fosters leadership, teamwork and courteous service to<br />
our community.<br />
<strong>No</strong> prior law enforcement experience is required but must be certified as a TCOLE<br />
Peace Officer. Upon employment, you will participate in the City of Victoria Police<br />
Department Field Training Program. You will receive specialized training from some of<br />
the finest officers in law enforcement.<br />
Salary amount offered will depend on qualifications. Lateral pay scale recognized for<br />
Senior Police Officers. This is a non-exempt position.<br />
Applicants currently attending a TCOLE Academy are encouraged to apply.<br />
Employment eligibility will require successful completion of the Academy courses and<br />
certification as a TCOLE Peace Officer.<br />
To learn more about this exciting opportunity and to apply, visit<br />
www.victoriatx.gov<br />
142 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 143
Position Title: Criminal Investigator<br />
Position Type: Criminal Investigation Division<br />
Closing Date: June 30, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Job Description:<br />
Salary Information:<br />
Kendall County Sheriff’s Office<br />
Under general supervision, the purpose of the position is to conduct thorough investigations on<br />
misdemeanor and felony crimes, collect and preserve evidence, interrogate offenders, question<br />
witnesses and victims, prepare case files for testimony in Grand Jury and trials, establish and<br />
maintain liaison with local, county, state, federal and public officials, and abide by all lawful<br />
policies and procedures, orders, and instructions issued by the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office.<br />
$57,685 – $60,730 (depending on experience)<br />
KELLER POLICE DEPARTMENT<br />
NOW HIRING POLICE OFFICERS<br />
Laterals and New Hires<br />
Application Submission<br />
Personal History Statement (PHS): Candidates MUST complete the (PHS) and<br />
bring it with them, notarized, with all appropriate documentation on their<br />
scheduled written test date.<br />
Testing: A study guide is available for purchase<br />
Benefits Include:<br />
Annual Salary Increases<br />
Health Benefits<br />
Life/Disability Insurance<br />
Texas District and County Retirement System (TDCRS)<br />
Vacation, Holiday, Sick & Bereavement Leave<br />
County Paid Uniforms and Vehicle<br />
TEST DATES: Wednesday, July 14, <strong>2021</strong> & Saturday, July 17, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Candidates must achieve a minimum passing score on the written test in order<br />
to be considered for employment. TO REGISTER, GO TO:<br />
https://phe.tbe.taleo.net/phe01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?<br />
org=CITYOFKELLER&cws=1&rid=730<br />
Job Requirements: Age 21<br />
High School diploma or equivalent required supplemented by two (2) to three (3) years previous<br />
experience or training that includes law enforcement, knowledge of criminal laws and codes, and<br />
investigations; some college preferred<br />
Experience Preferred<br />
Applicants must possess a current T.C.O.L.E. license as a Peace Officer<br />
Knowledge of the English language, spelling and grammar. General knowledge of Microsoft<br />
Word and Power Point are encouraged.<br />
AND COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION FORM AND PERSONAL HISTORY<br />
STATEMENT.<br />
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT SGT. DARRELL POTTS AT 817-743-4543,<br />
DPOTTS@CITYOFKELLER.COM OR VISIT CITYOFKELLER.COM<br />
DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS 5PM ON July 9, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Bilingual preferred<br />
Contact:<br />
Lt. Butch Matjeka, Operations Commander<br />
Kendall County Sheriff’s Office<br />
6 Staudt St.<br />
Boerne, TX. 78006<br />
830-249-9721<br />
On-Line Application: https://www.kendallcountysheriff.com/employment<br />
144 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 145
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UNIVERSITY PARK POLICE DEPARTMENT<br />
"It's <strong>No</strong>t Just a Job, It's a Commitment"<br />
The New Braunfels Police Department is accepting applications for Certified<br />
Officers.<br />
Applications are available on the City’s Human Resources page:<br />
https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/cityofnewbraunfels/jobs/3072940/police<br />
-officer-certified<br />
Applications closing date: July 14, <strong>2021</strong><br />
J O B D U T I E S<br />
Personal History Statement due: July 30, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Test date: August 21, <strong>2021</strong><br />
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r i t e s o f f e n s e , i n c i d e n t , a r r e s t a n d<br />
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m p o u n d m e n t r e p o r t s .<br />
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n f o r m s t h e c o m m u n i t y o f c r i m e p r e v e n t i o n ,<br />
I<br />
o r k s 1 2 - h o u r s h i f t s , i n c l u d i n g n i g h t s ,<br />
W<br />
e e k e n d s a n d h o l i d a y s .<br />
w<br />
Q U A L I F I C A T I O N S<br />
The first year starting annual base pay for certified police officers is $58,321 with<br />
a $3,000 sign-on and retention incentive (paid out in three $1,000 annual lump<br />
sum payments).<br />
Additional pay benefits are available for special assignments, bilingual ability, and<br />
higher-level education, and certification. Benefits include: Paid vacation/sick<br />
leave/holidays, military leave, retirement, and tuition reimbursement.<br />
Applicants must possess a TCOLE certification by test date. Applicants must be at<br />
least 21 years old and cannot have reached their 45 th birthday by test date.<br />
Applicants must possess a valid TCOLE license by test date. All applicants must<br />
be able to pass a medical/drug screen, a thorough background check, a polygraph<br />
exam, psychological evaluation, and physical agility tests.<br />
Visit https://www.nbtexas.org/920/Employment to learn more.<br />
Questions? joinnbpd@nbtexas.org or (830) 221-2139.<br />
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CITY OF CARROLLTON<br />
Firefighters’ and Police Officers’<br />
Civil Service Commission<br />
Announces<br />
POLICE DEPARTMENT<br />
Entrance Examination Test Date: April 10, <strong>2021</strong><br />
REGISTRATION ENDS ON:<br />
April 10, <strong>2021</strong> at 9:00 a.m.<br />
Examination Date: Saturday, April 10, <strong>2021</strong> at<br />
9:00a.m. - Written Exam<br />
To register go to: www.cityofcarrollton.com/police<br />
Complete the online registration to be submitted electronically to:<br />
Carrollton Police Department<br />
2025 East Jackson Road<br />
Carrollton, Texas 75006<br />
Phone: 972 466 3028<br />
Website: www.cityofcarrollton.com/police<br />
Email: policedevelopment@cityofcarrollton.com<br />
City of Carrollton is an Equal Opportunity Employer<br />
148 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 149
JASON CHATHAM<br />
SHERIFF<br />
SCHLEICHER COUNTY<br />
Open Position:<br />
The Schleicher County Sheriff’s Office is currently seeking qualified applicants for the position of<br />
Deputy Sheriff. All applicants must hold a current Texas Peace Officer License. Qualified applicants<br />
will be subject to an extensive criminal history and background investigation. Applicants must have<br />
good communication skills and good organizational skills. Applicants must be self-motivated and<br />
able to work with little supervision. Applicants must be of high moral and ethical character, highly<br />
motivated, and trustworthy.<br />
Benefits:<br />
Hourly rate of $21.00 / Annual Average of $46,000.00 Plus, Overtime and Holiday Pay<br />
Group Health and Life Insurance with no charge to the employee<br />
*25 K Life Insurance<br />
*25 K Accidental Death or Dismemberment<br />
*1 Year Salary paid to Beneficiary<br />
Retirement Plan through Texas County and District Retirement System<br />
*Employee / County Match at 7%<br />
* Fully vested after 8 years<br />
Sick Leave accrues upon employment at one day per month<br />
Two weeks of vacation after the first year of employment.<br />
Paid Holidays<br />
Take-home vehicle<br />
Uniforms provided (excluding footwear)<br />
Body Armor provided<br />
Duty Weapons and Equipment Issuance<br />
Paid Training<br />
If you are interested, contact us by telephone at (325) 853-27<strong>37</strong> or in person at 4 S. Divide in Eldorado.<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
MORE INFO: Visit WWW.CITYOFSACHSE.COM<br />
or call (972) 495-2271<br />
4 S. Divide Street | Eldorado, Texas 76936 | Phone (325) 853-27<strong>37</strong> | Fax (325) 853-2713<br />
Email: sheriff@co.schleicher.tx.us<br />
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Memorial Villages Police Department<br />
Bunker Hill • Piney Point• Hunters Creek<br />
Police Officer<br />
EOE/M/F/D<br />
5+ Years Patrol Experience Required<br />
The Memorial Villages Police Department (Located on the West Side of Houston) currently has<br />
openings for experienced officers who are self- motivated and enthusiastic about community<br />
policing. We have overwhelming support of our communities and encourage our officers to be<br />
proactive and innovative.<br />
$1500 Sign on Bonus<br />
Starting Salary Range<br />
$71,179 – $82,808 (DOQ)<br />
• Healthcare Insurance, DHMO Dental, Vision – 100% paid for employee, 50% for<br />
spouse/dependents.<br />
• Paid long-term disability and life insurance for employee, with additional life insurance<br />
available for spouse/dependents.<br />
• Health Savings Account with departmental contributions up to $4200 annually<br />
• TMRS Retirement 2 to 1 match, 7% Employee ,14% Employer Contribution.<br />
• 457 Plan with employer contribution of 2% of annual salary<br />
• Bi-Lingual Pay (2.5% of Base salary)<br />
• Shift Differential Pay $3600 annually<br />
• Tuition reimbursement<br />
• Longevity Pay up to a max of $2400 annually at 10 years of service.<br />
• College Education incentive up to $3000 for a master’s degree<br />
• LEMIT or FBI NA pay $1200 annually.<br />
• ECA (Emergency Care Assistant) $1300 Annually, training provided to each employee.<br />
• 12 hour shifts with every other Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off.<br />
• Officer certification pay, Intermediate, Advanced, and Master up to 7.5% of Salary.<br />
To learn more or apply, visit our website at www.mvpdtx.org<br />
Or contact Sgt. Owens 713-365-<strong>37</strong>11 or lowens@mvpdtx.org<br />
Or Commander E. Jones 713-365-<strong>37</strong>06 ejones@mvpdtx.org<br />
11981 Memorial Dr. Houston, Texas 77024<br />
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